Articles: opioid.
-
A recent US federal review and clinical guideline on opioids for chronic pain asserted that the literature contributes no evidence on efficacy because all trials had "inadequate duration." To explore the evidence, we examined durations of studies on opioid, nonopioid drug, and behavioral therapies for chronic pain. ⋯ No common nonopioid treatment for chronic pain has been studied in aggregate over longer intervals of active treatment than opioids. To dismiss trials as "inadequate" if their observation period is a year or less is inconsistent with current regulatory standards. The literature on major drug and nondrug treatments for chronic pain reveals similarly shaped distributions across modalities. Considering only duration of active treatment in efficacy or effectiveness trials, published evidence is no stronger for any major drug category or behavioral therapy than for opioids.
-
To examine laxative use by individuals in hospice who were taking opioids during the last week of life. ⋯ In 2007, slightly more than half of older adults in hospice who were taking opioids used laxatives during the last week of life. Recent quality indicators from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommend laxative treatment when opioid therapy is initiated to prevent opioid-induced constipation and are intended to improve laxative use in individuals in hospice treated with opioids.
-
Multicenter Study
Impact of an Electronic Pain and Opioid Risk Assessment Program: Are There Improvements in Patient Encounters and Clinic Notes?
A comprehensive electronic self-report assessment, called PainCAS(®) (Clinical Assessment System), was developed and implemented in three clinics. PainCAS captures demographic information, pain assessment, quality-of-life variables, and contains validated, electronic versions of screeners for risk of aberrant opioid-related behaviors (the SOAPP and COMM). This investigation sought to determine the impact of PainCAS on documentation of pain and opioid risk evaluations. Exploratory hypotheses examined changes in the content of the patient-provider interaction and any impact on outcome. ⋯ Results indicate that use of the PainCAS electronic pain assessment improves documentation of chart elements in clinic notes and is associated with increased discussion of key, pain-relevant topics during the clinical visit.