Prescribed Dose of Opioid Medication Could Impact Overdose Potential
While OxyContin and Vicodin have been proven to be effective in treating pain caused by cancer, they are also increasingly prescribed for those taking the medications for other pain issues.
Science Daily recently published a piece that examines a study that explores the risk of overdose in patients who have been prescribed opioids for chronic non-cancer pain in general health care.
The study was conducted by Michael Von Korff, ScD, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute and included nearly 10,000 patients who had received multiple opioid prescriptions for common chronic pain conditions such as back pain and osteoarthritis.
Those patients who received higher opioid doses were nine times more likely to overdose than those who were receiving low doses. At the same time, the most overdoses occurred among patients receiving low to medium doses as prescriptions at those levels were much more common.
It is estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that more than 8 million U.S. adults are using opioids for long-term chronic pain. The CDC reported that almost 14,000 U.S. deaths involved the medication in 2006, which is more than triple the reported number in 1999.
"Some studies have indicated that fatal opioid overdoses occur most often among people abusing prescription drugs or obtaining them from non-medical sources," Dr. Von Korff said. "But our results suggest that many overdoses may occur among people using prescribed opioids."
Von Korff was quick to highlight that his research and supporting data reviewed in the study cannot accurately determine whether or not higher doses are a cause of overdose, but he did note how important it is for physicians to carefully evaluate and closely monitor patients using opioids long-term.