Prescribing long-acting opioids for moderate to severe chronic noncancer pain is linked to higher rates of death than alternative medications, according to a retrospective study.
The study found that total mortality in patients taking long-acting opioids to control noncancer pain was 64% greater than in matched patients receiving a prescribed analgesic anticonvulsant or low-dose cyclic antidepressant (JAMA 2016;315:2415-2423).
“It is well known that long-acting opioid analgesics increase