Prevalence of Long-Term Opioid Therapy in a Chronic Non-Cancer Pain Population Attending a University-Based Tertiary Pain Clinic in Sweden: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Henrik Grelz, Marcelo Rivano Fischer, Mirnabi Priouzifard and 2 others
PMID 35174866WHAT IT FOUND
38% of 1,613 chronic non-cancer pain patients at a Swedish tertiary pain clinic had dispensed opioids in 90 days, and 22.3% were on long-term therapy.
Among those on long-term therapy, 10.6% had dispensed opioids at high doses.
Key findings
01In the 90 days before assessment, opioids were dispensed to 619 of the 1,613 patients, giving a prevalence of 38%.
02Long-term opioid therapy over 360 days before assessment was found in 360 of the 1,613 patients, a prevalence of 22.3%.
03Among patients with long-term opioid therapy, 10.6% had dispensed opioids at more than 90 milligram morphine equivalents per day in the first 90-day period.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that opioid exposure caused lower quality of life or that it improved pain, mood, function or quality of life. It came from one tertiary pain clinic in Sweden and used referred patients with severe chronic pain, so it may not apply to milder pain populations or other countries. Opioid data came from pharmacy dispensing records, not from what patients actually took, so exposure and dose may be overestimated or underestimated. The dose calculation over 90 days may both overestimate and underestimate milligram morphine equivalents per day. The study did not investigate how much long-term opioid therapy was prescribed, and it had no data on illicit drug use. Patients not reported to the national registry were not included, although the number is assumed to be very low. The population had severe pain and low function, so it says little about patients with less disabling chronic pain.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these prevalence figures as proof that opioids are useful or harmful for this population. The study counted dispensed prescriptions before assessment and did not test treatment outcomes, so it cannot show whether opioids improved or worsened pain, mood, function or quality of life.