| Year Funded: 2011 | Budget: | Funding Agency: Institute for Work & Health (IWH), Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario |
|---|---|---|
| Title: | Long Term Use of Opioids for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review: (IWH Project 3125) | |
| Category: | Intervention Research | |
| Subcategory: | Intervention Research | |
| Keywords: | opioid medication, chronic pain | |
| Link to research website: | www.iwh.on.ca | |
Issue:
Opioids are very potent analgesics, and chronic non-cancer pain, which includes back pain, osteoarthritis, neuropathic pain, painful diabetic neuropathy, is very debilitating. Therefore, the use of opioids is intended to help this population to improve their pain, function, quality of life, and increase participation in society. There is now a Canadian Clinical Practice Guideline for how to use opioids safely and effectively for CNCP, released in May 2010. The guideline recommends monitoring for function and risks during long-term opioid therapy. The goal of long-term opioid therapy is to not only improve pain, but to help patients maintain function and role participation, while minimizing the risks of therapy, including falls, fractures, overdose, and aberrant drug behaviours, such as abuse addiction, and diversion. However, there remains significant uncertainty about whether long-term opioid therapy is beneficial or harmful for CNCP.
Objectives:
The objective of this project is to conduct a systematic of the published scientific literature on the impact of long-term opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) and to perform subgroup and sensitivity analyses to guide current practice and future research.
Anticipated Results:
The project has received commitments to participate in the review from a range of stakeholders across: Norman Buckley (McMaster,Ontario), Peter MacDougall (Dalhousie, Nova Scotia), Peter Selby (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Ontario), Clarence Weppler (College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta), Loren Regier (RxFiles, Saskatoon), Judith Hunter (Universities of Toronto & Alberta), Diana Gromala (Simon Fraser University, British Columbia). We anticipate the findings from this review will be of interest to clinician leaders in Canada and to provincial workers’ compensation boards.
Investigators:
Andrea Furlan, Nancy Carnide, Emma Irvin, Dwayne Van Eerd, Ron Saunders (Institute for Work & Health)
