In a new study, researchers found that increasing doses of opioid pain medicines may not benefit patients with chronic pain.
They found that pain relief cannot be achieved when patients increase the doses.
They suggest that when people are thinking about increasing the opioid dose, they need to realize the risk it brings.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Arkansas.
In the study, the team analyzed the medical records of more than 50,000 chronic pain patients in the VA health system who were prescribed opioids between 2008 and 2015.
Their conditions included arthritis, back pain, neck pain, nerve pain, and headache/migraine.
During the study period, nearly 21,000 patients had their opioid dose upped—defined as a more than 20% increase in an average daily dose.
These patients were compared with more than 32,000 patients who continued to take the same opioid dose over the study period.
The researchers found that patients who had their opioid dose increased didn’t have meaningful improvements in pain management, compared with those who continued to take the same dose.
The findings show that doctors should have extreme caution when embarking on a path of increasing opioid doses to manage non-cancer pain.
Another recent study from the team showed that higher doses of opioids raise the risk of certain side effects.
These include constipation, dizziness, greater sensitivity to pain, and increased risk of substance use disorder.
The lead author of the study is Corey Hayes, an assistant professor.
The study is published in the journal Pain.
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