Opioid Treatment for Chronic Back Pain and Its Association with Addiction
Authors: Robert L. DuPont
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Letters4 September 2007Opioid Treatment for Chronic Back Pain and Its Association with AddictionRobert L. DuPont, MD, Noni A. Graham, MPH, and Mark S. Gold, MDRobert L. DuPont, MDFrom the Institute for Behavior and Health, Rockville, MD 20852; University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610; and University of Florida and McKnight Brain Institute, Gainesville, FL 32610.Search for more papers by this author, Noni A. Graham, MPHFrom the Institute for Behavior and Health, Rockville, MD 20852; University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610; and University of Florida and McKnight Brain Institute, Gainesville, FL 32610.Search for more papers by this author, and Mark S. Gold, MDFrom the Institute for Behavior and Health, Rockville, MD 20852; University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610; and University of Florida and McKnight Brain Institute, Gainesville, FL 32610.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-5-200709040-00019 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We applaud the recent meta-analysis and review by Martell and colleagues (1). Opioid prescriptions are so commonly diverted that only marijuana is more widely abused by U.S. teens. This is exemplified by results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2), revealing that more Americans used prescription-type pain relievers nonmedically for the first time than used marijuana for the first time. Legitimate opioid prescription use has dramatically increased, apparently with little regard for the associated nonmedical use. Reasons for this increase include undertreatment of pain, poor physician response to educational efforts aimed at physicians ...References1. Martell BA, O'Connor PG, Kerns RD, Becker WC, Morales KH, Kosten TR, et al. Systematic review: opioid treatment for chronic back pain: prevalence, efficacy, and association with addiction. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:116-27. [PMID: 17227935] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2006. Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-30, DHHS publication no. SMA 06-4194. Google Scholar3. Compton WM, Volkow ND. Major increases in opioid analgesic abuse in the United States: concerns and strategies. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2006;81:103-7. [PMID: 16023304] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Gold MS, Bruijnzeel A, Frost-Pineda K, Jacobs W. Complications in Anesthesia. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:119-21. Google Scholar5. Bruijnzeel AW, Lewis B, Bajpai LK, Morey TE, Dennis DM, Gold M. Severe deficit in brain reward function associated with fentanyl withdrawal in rats. Biol Psychiatry. 2006;59:477-80. [PMID: 16169528] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Coleman JJ, Bensinger PB, Gold MS, Smith DE, Bianchi RP, DuPont RL. Can drug design inhibit abuse? J Psychoactive Drugs. 2005;37:343-62. [PMID: 16480162] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From the Institute for Behavior and Health, Rockville, MD 20852; University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610; and University of Florida and McKnight Brain Institute, Gainesville, FL 32610.Disclosures: Dr. DuPont receives support from McNeil Pharmaceutical for monitoring of nonmedical use of prescription stimulants. He is also Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Prescription Drug Abuse for the Institute for Behavior and Health. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoSystematic Review: Opioid Treatment for Chronic Back Pain: Prevalence, Efficacy, and Association with Addiction Bridget A. Martell , Patrick G. O'Connor , Robert D. Kerns , William C. Becker , Knashawn H. Morales , Thomas R. Kosten , and David A. Fiellin Opioid Treatment for Chronic Back Pain and Its Association with Addiction Bridget A. Martell , William C. Becker , and David A. Fiellin Opioid Treatment for Chronic Back Pain and Its Association with Addiction Meredith Noble and Karen Schoelles Metrics Cited byPerspectives on the Opioid Crisis 4 September 2007Volume 147, Issue 5Page: 349KeywordsDrugsHealth surveysLower back painMarijuanaMorphineOpioid addictionOpioidsOxycodoneTreatment guidelines ePublished: 4 September 2007 Issue Published: 4 September 2007 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...