Opioids have an important role in the management of acute, cancer, and chronic pain. However, their indiscriminate use in chronic pain has led, in part, to the epidemic of prescription drug abuse, resulting in a dramatic increase in morbidity and mortality in America. Most of this abuse originates from legitimate prescriptions by physicians. Prescribing opioids to chronic pain patients while restricting them to those who abuse them is very challenging, and physicians seek appropriate and unbiased prescribing guidelines. Our review, based on analysis of the available literature, focuses on striking a balance between overprescribing and underprescribing. The core concept of this strategy relies in using screening tools to identify patients who are at high risk for opioid abuse along with diligent monitoring using prescription monitoring programs and urine drug screens, while also limiting opioid doses. Hopefully, using these principles, physicians can more confidently prescribe opioids to those who would benefit from these powerful drugs and at the same time keep opioids away from those who could potentially be harmed.
Key Words: abuse, addiction, chronic pain, dose limitation, misuse, monitoring, opioids, overdose, screening
Evaluating the Risk of Opioid Abuse in Chronic Pain Patients by Addiction Psychiatry Fellows in an Academic Pain Center
