Although poorer outcomes after opioid therapy and a greater likelihood for misuse of the drugs have been reported in chronic pain patients with high levels of negative affect, the results of a well-designed, prospective trial firmly underscore previous findings.
Patients suffering from chronic low back pain (LBP) and high negative affect who were treated with opioids saw pain scores decline only 21%, compared with 39% (P<0.01) for similar patients with lower negative affect. “The