• About
  • Masthead
  • License Content
  • Advertise
  • Submit Press Release
  • RSS/Email List
  • 2MM Podcast
  • Write for us
  • Contact Us
2 Minute Medicine
No Result
View All Result

No products in the cart.

SUBSCRIBE
  • Specialties
    • All Specialties, All Recent Reports
    • Cardiology
    • Chronic Disease
    • Dermatology
    • Emergency
    • Endocrinology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Imaging and Intervention
    • Infectious Disease
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharma
    • Preclinical
    • Psychiatry
    • Public Health
    • Pulmonology
    • Rheumatology
    • Surgery
  • AI Roundup
  • Pharma
  • The Scan+
  • Classics™+
    • 2MM+ Online Access
    • Paperback and Ebook
  • Rewinds
  • Visual
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • License Content
    • Submit Press Release
    • Advertise with Us
  • Account
    • Subscribe
    • Sign-in
    • My account
2 Minute Medicine
  • Specialties
    • All Specialties, All Recent Reports
    • Cardiology
    • Chronic Disease
    • Dermatology
    • Emergency
    • Endocrinology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Imaging and Intervention
    • Infectious Disease
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharma
    • Preclinical
    • Psychiatry
    • Public Health
    • Pulmonology
    • Rheumatology
    • Surgery
  • AI Roundup
  • Pharma
  • The Scan+
  • Classics™+
    • 2MM+ Online Access
    • Paperback and Ebook
  • Rewinds
  • Visual
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • License Content
    • Submit Press Release
    • Advertise with Us
  • Account
    • Subscribe
    • Sign-in
    • My account
SUBSCRIBE
2 Minute Medicine
Subscribe
Home All Specialties Chronic Disease

Long term opioid pain therapy evidence limited, linked to serious harms

byJeffrey CampbellandSai Folmsbee
January 13, 2015
in Chronic Disease
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

1. According to this systematic review, long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain was associated with increased risk of serious harms, such as overdose, abuse, and heart attacks.

2. Evidence suggesting that chronic opioid use improves quality of life or pain outcomes was sparse, and the authors did not identify any high quality studies of the effectiveness of long-term opioid therapy that met their inclusion criteria.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)           

Study Rundown: Chronic use of opioid-based pain relievers has increased substantially in the last two decades in the US. However, their overall outcomes are largely unknown, so this study reviewed previously published articles to analyze the benefits, harms, methodology, dosing and comparative effectiveness of long-term opioid use for chronic pain. Most of the studies described harms associated with chronic opioid use. In particular, opioid abuse and overdose, bone fractures, heart attacks, motor vehicle accidents and erectile dysfunction were associated with long-term use of opioid therapy. The risk of some of these harms, including abuse, overdose, and heart attacks, increased along with the opioid dose. This study was limited by the paucity of high-quality published literature on long-term opioid therapy. Specifically, the authors were unable to identify any studies on the effectiveness of this therapy that met their criteria for inclusion in this analysis, and were therefore unable to comment on this key question. Overall, this study highlights several key harms that may be linked to chronic opioid use, particularly as doses increase. But another significant result was the distinct lack of rigorous research to guide use of this ubiquitous class of pain medications.

Click to read the study, published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine

Relevant Reading: Opioids for Chronic Noncancer Pain: A Meta-Analysis of Effectiveness and Side Effects

RELATED REPORTS

Reductions in pain catastrophizing are associated with improvements in emotional functioning

The Scan by 2 Minute Medicine®: Billy Joel’s Brain Condition, Gigi Robinson’s Surgical Advocacy, Climate and Cancer Risk, and West Nile Virus Reaches the United Kingdom

Bedside parameters may help predict chronic post-traumatic head and neck pain

In-Depth [systematic review]: This review is an update of a 2009 review for the American Pain Society and American Academy of Pain Medicine. It included 35 publications that evaluated chronic (>3 months), non-parenteral opioid use. Data on five characteristics were sought: long-term effectiveness, harms, opioid dosing strategies/comparative effectiveness of different opioids, abuse/misuse risk assessment instruments and risk mitigation strategies. No studies were identified that addressed effectiveness or risk mitigation. Included studies were highly heterogeneous in methodology, quality, and results, limiting summative conclusions and preventing a planned meta-analysis. However, this review found general dose-dependent associations between chronic opioid use and the harms, no clear differences between the effectiveness of various opioid medications, and poor evidence evaluating the utility of several risk assessment tools. This analysis highlights the urgent need for high-quality, randomized or observational studies to gauge the long-term effectiveness of various chronic opioid therapies and their associated harms to better develop the tools and strategies needed to mitigate these harms.

More from this author: Midlife diabetes associated with cognitive decline, Atrial fibrillation likely increases risk of silent strokes, HIV rebound observed after therapeutic stem cell transplant, USPSTF recommends behavioral counseling to reduce cardiovascular disease, ACP recommends non-pharmacologic treatment of urinary incontinence in women, Emphysema-like lung on CT associated with increased mortality

Image: PD

©2015 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. All rights reserved. No works may be reproduced without expressed written consent from 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. No article should be construed as medical advice and is not intended as such by the authors, editors, staff or by 2 Minute Medicine, Inc.

Tags: chronic painopiod
Previous Post

Nicotine biomarker predicts rates of smoking cessation in response to varenicline or nicotine patch

Next Post

Elderly diabetics potentially being over-treated

RelatedReports

Parental nonmedical prescription opioid use linked to adolescent use
Chronic Disease

Reductions in pain catastrophizing are associated with improvements in emotional functioning

June 22, 2025
The Scan by 2 Minute Medicine®:  Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, Taylor Swift, NBA rookie Chet Holmgren and Magic Mushrooms!
The Scan by 2 Minute Medicine®

The Scan by 2 Minute Medicine®: Billy Joel’s Brain Condition, Gigi Robinson’s Surgical Advocacy, Climate and Cancer Risk, and West Nile Virus Reaches the United Kingdom

May 27, 2025
Chronic Disease

Bedside parameters may help predict chronic post-traumatic head and neck pain

May 25, 2025
Parental nonmedical prescription opioid use linked to adolescent use
Chronic Disease

Music listening may be an effective adjunct for pain control

March 25, 2025
Next Post
Elderly diabetics potentially being over-treated

Elderly diabetics potentially being over-treated

Racial disparities in breast cancer survival associated with biologic tumor differences

Racial disparities in breast cancer survival associated with biologic tumor differences

Asthma linked to risk of new-onset obstructive sleep apnea

Asthma linked to risk of new-onset obstructive sleep apnea

2 Minute Medicine® is an award winning, physician-run, expert medical media company. Our content is curated, written and edited by practicing health professionals who have clinical and scientific expertise in their field of reporting. Our editorial management team is comprised of highly-trained MD physicians. Join numerous brands, companies, and hospitals who trust our licensed content.

Recent Reports

  • Artificial intelligence based clinical decision systems are safe and effective for diabetes management
  • Epic Launchpad propels generative-AI into everyday hospital routines
  • #VisualAbstract: Routine Cerebral Embolic Protection Did Not Reduce Stroke Incidence during Transcatheter Aortic-Valve Implantation
License Content
Terms of Use | Disclaimer
Cookie Policy
Privacy Statement (EU)
Disclaimer

© 2021 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. - Physician-written medical news.

  • Specialties
    • All Specialties, All Recent Reports
    • Cardiology
    • Chronic Disease
    • Dermatology
    • Emergency
    • Endocrinology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Imaging and Intervention
    • Infectious Disease
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharma
    • Preclinical
    • Psychiatry
    • Public Health
    • Pulmonology
    • Rheumatology
    • Surgery
  • AI Roundup
  • Pharma
  • The Scan
  • Classics™
    • 2MM+ Online Access
    • Paperback and Ebook
  • Rewinds
  • Visual
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • License Content
    • Submit Press Release
    • Advertise with Us
  • Account
    • Subscribe
    • Sign-in
    • My account
No Result
View All Result

© 2021 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. - Physician-written medical news.