Duration of opioid prescriptions predicts incident nonmedical use of prescription opioids among U.S. veterans receiving medical care

Considerable debate surrounds the prescribing of opioid analgesics internationally for non-cancer chronic pain (H äuser et al., 2017; Katz, 2016; Novak et al., 2016; Okie, 2010). There is limited evidence supporting the efficacy of prescription opioids in managing chronic pain (Chou et al., 2015a). Concerns have also emerged about the safety of long-term opioid therapy (i.e., greater than 90 days) because it m ay increase the risk of overdose death (Dunn et al., 2010), all-cause mortality (Ray et al., 2016), and nonmedical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO)(Becker et al., 2008).

Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - August 22, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Declan T. Barry, Brandon D.L. Marshall, William C. Becker, Adam J. Gordon, Stephen Crystal, Robert D. Kerns, Julie R. Gaither, Kirsha S. Gordon, Amy C. Justice, David A. Fiellin, E. Jennifer Edelman Tags: Full length article Source Type: research