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Related Experiment Videos

Opioids for chronic low-back pain.

A Deshpande1, A Furlan, A Mailis-Gagnon

  • 1University Health Network, TWH-Comprehensive Pain Unit, 399 Bathurst St, 4th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 2S8. adeshpan@uhnres.utoronto.ca

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|July 20, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Opioids show modest benefits for chronic low-back pain (LBP) relief and function compared to placebo, but their long-term efficacy remains questionable due to limited high-quality evidence. Further research is needed.

Area of Science:

  • Pain Management
  • Pharmacology
  • Clinical Trials

Background:

  • Increasing use of opioids for chronic low-back pain (LBP).
  • Unclear benefits and risks associated with long-term opioid therapy for LBP.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the efficacy of opioids in adults with chronic LBP.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic search of multiple databases (CENTRAL, CINAHL, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE) up to 2007.
  • Inclusion of randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials of non-injectable opioids for chronic LBP longer than four weeks.
  • Independent quality assessment and data extraction, with pooled statistical analysis using RevMan 4.2.

Main Results:

  • Three trials showed tramadol was more effective than placebo for pain relief (SMD 0.71) and function (SMD 0.17).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Common tramadol side effects included headaches (RD 9%) and nausea (RD 3%).
  • One trial indicated opioids were not significantly better than naproxen for pain relief or function.

    • Conclusions:

    • Few high-quality trials exist for long-term opioid efficacy in chronic LBP.
    • Current evidence suggests questionable clinical benefits of opioids for chronic LBP.
    • Further high-quality studies simulating clinical practice are necessary to evaluate opioid usefulness and risks.