Rationalisation of long-term high-dose opioids for chronic pain: development of an intervention and conceptual framework.

ABSTRACT: There has been a large increase in the number of prescriptions for opioid drugs in the United Kingdom over the last 20 years or more and the prescribing of opioids in high doses continues to increase. Much opioid prescribing is for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) despite serious doubts about the long-term effectiveness of opioids for this indication. Clinical experience is that there are increasing numbers of patients who are on high dosages of opioid drugs over sustained periods which provide limited or no pain relief while having significant negative effects on functioning and quality of life. The aim of this article is to bring readers' attention to some clinical observations of the CNCP population with high doses and to describe an intervention to reduce these doses. Many of these patie

SUBMITTER: Bailey J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8339941 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature