New Guidelines for Prescribing Opioid Pain Drugs Published
GLENVIEW, Ill., February 10, 2009 /PRNewswire/ -- A prestigious panel of pain-management experts representing the American Pain Society (APS) www.ampainsoc.org and the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) has published the first comprehensive clinical practice guideline to assist clinicians in prescribing potent opioid pain medications for patients with chronic non-cancer pain. The long-awaited guideline appears in the current issue of , www.jpain.org, the APS peer-reviewed publication.
"The expert panel concluded that opioid pain medications are safe and effective for carefully selected, well-monitored patients with chronic non-cancer pain," said Gilbert J. Fanciullo, MD, a panel co-chair and director, Section of Pain Medicine, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
Opioids, such as morphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone and fentanyl are potent analgesics. They traditionally have been used to relieve pain following surgery, from cancer and at the end of life. Today opioids are used widely to relieve severe pain caused by chronic low-back injury, accident trauma, crippling arthritis, sickle cell, fibromyalgia, and other painful conditions.
APS, AAPM and the Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center at Oregon Health and Science University collaborated for two years reviewing more than 8,000 published abstracts and non-published studies to assess clinical evidence from which their recommendations are based. The target audience is clinicians who care for adults with chronic non-cancer pain.
The panel made 25 specific recommendations and achieved unanimous consensus on nearly all. "The guidelines are based on the available evidence and also rely on an underlying assumption that chronic opioid therapy requires prescribers to have clinical skills and knowledge in both the principles of opioid treatment and the assessment and management of risks associated with opioid abuse, addiction and diversion," said Fanciullo.
Opioid prescribing has increased significantly due to growing professional acceptance that the drugs can relieve chronic non-cancer pain, and the guideline acknowledges there are widespread concerns about increases in prescription opioid abuse, addiction and diversion.
"Decisions about chronic opioid therapy must weigh the benefits of these medications against the risks, which include side effects and adverse outcomes associated with abuse," said Perry Fine, MD, panel co-chair and professor of anesthesiology, Medical Center.
The guideline on opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain is the sixth evidenced-based, pain management clinical practice guideline published by APS. Others have covered sickle-cell disease, arthritis, cancer, fibromyalgia, and low back pain.
CONTACT: Chuck Weber, +1-847-705-1802, , for AmericanPain Society cpweber@weberpr.com
Web site: http://www.ampainsoc.org/
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