Managing twin crises in chronic pain and prescription opioids

Abstract

National pain strategies are part of the solution

The opioid epidemic and headache: Experience of a general neurology consult service

“…The worldwide opiate problem highlights the significant risk of misuse, addiction and suicide with chronic use of these agents. 5 Opioid overdoses kill over 130 Americans every day and the pattern of prescribing among U.S. physicians has received scrutiny in recent years. 3,4 Although the data presented here is from a single institution, we suspect similar patterns may exist in other jurisdictions.…”

“…2 In addition, the epidemic of opioid abuse represents a serious public health concern among physician prescribers and emergency departments, 3,4 with long term use of opioids associated with risk of misuse, abuse, addiction and even overdose. 5 Headache specific treatment guidelines (e.g. NICE) have been published but compliance with such guidelines is unclear.…”

A Review of Potential National Chronic Pain Surveillance Systems in the United States

“…For now, the dual and conflicting public health emergencies of poorly managed CP and the opioid crisis, as CP is often treated with opioids, mean that enhanced surveillance of CP may inform both crises. 34 Further, assessing how effectively adults with pain think they are managing their pain, both pharmacologically and nonpharmacologically, is an important surveillance measure because it addresses what patients care about, as underscored by the Healthy People 2030 developmental objective to increase self-management of HICP. 53 The purpose of this review is to consider 1) possible national surveillance data sources, or combinations of them, that might best capture data needed for CP surveillance, 2) the national surveillance issues related to case definitions of pain and pain-related health conditions, and 3) next steps in national CP surveillance.…”

What Is the Relationship between Pain and Emotion? Bridging Constructs and Communities

“…Pain is a natural, adaptive response that protects our body from actual or potential tissue injury. However, when pain persists, it can lead to suffering and to substantial clinical and economical burdens, at both personal and societal levels (Mackey and Kao, 2019). Many people consider pain to be purely physical, but since pain can be reported in the absence of noxious sensory activations, pain is actually defined as an unpleasant subjective experience with a sensory and an emotional component (www.iasp-pain.…”