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Chronic pain severity in opioid-dependent patients
Jennifer S Potter1, Sara J Shiffman, Roger D Weiss
1McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts 02478, USA. jennifer_potter@hms.harvard.edu
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
|December 29, 2007
Summary
A quick screening tool can effectively identify chronic pain (CP) in patients undergoing opioid detoxification. Severe chronic pain is linked to greater depression and functional issues in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD).
Area of Science:
- Addiction Medicine
- Pain Management
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Opioid-dependent patients frequently experience chronic pain (CP).
- Assessing CP is crucial for integrated substance use disorder (SUD) treatment.
- Current screening methods may not be suitable for rapid assessment in detoxification settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility and utility of a single-item rapid screening tool for CP.
- To identify CP in patients undergoing inpatient opioid detoxification.
- To explore the relationship between CP severity and associated symptoms.
Main Methods:
- A pilot study involving 110 patients seeking inpatient opioid detoxification.
- Utilized a single-item rapid screening tool for CP identification.
- Assessed depressive symptom severity and functional interference.
Main Results:
- Over 42% of patients reported having CP.
- Severe CP was significantly associated with higher depressive symptom severity.
- Severe CP correlated with greater pain-related functional interference and higher likelihood of disability.
Conclusions:
- A single-item rapid screening tool is feasible for identifying CP in SUD treatment settings.
- Assessing CP severity is important for understanding patient needs in detoxification.
- Findings support the integration of CP screening into SUD treatment protocols.
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