Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Providers who treat patients with chronic pain face a dual challenge: providing adequate access to opioid therapies for appropriate pain management while adopting strategies to minimize the risk for abuse. Commonly prescribed opioids have substantial abuse potential when administered intravenously, and extended-release (ER)/long-acting (LA) opioids may be targeted for IV abuse because of the higher per-dose medication level. The consequences of IV opioid abuse are severe and increase the risks for adverse outcomes, including mortality due to acute health events, serious infections, and deep vein thrombosis, to name a few. ⋯ Findings from in vitro laboratory tests of abuse deterrence for opioid ADFs are described herein, as are data from human abuse potential studies for IV abuse of those ADF products, for which such studies are feasible (ie, abuse-deterrent agonist-antagonist formulations). The available ADF opioids may decrease both the attractiveness and the feasibility of IV abuse. The adoption of ADF opioids represents one tactic for providing access to needed medication for patients with chronic pain, while potentially reducing the risk for opioid abuse, in a comprehensive effort to combat the opioid epidemic.