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Prevalence of Problematic Use of Opioids in Patients with Chronic Noncancer Pain: A Systematic Review with Meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Jantarada Cláudia,
Silva Catarina,
GuimarãesPereira Luís
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pain practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1533-2500
pISSN - 1530-7085
DOI - 10.1111/papr.13001
Subject(s) - medicine , chronic pain , medline , meta analysis , addiction , opioid , confidence interval , systematic review , medical prescription , scopus , data extraction , web of science , psychiatry , receptor , political science , law , pharmacology
Background and Objective Opioid prescription for chronic noncancer pain is associated with problematic use. We aimed to review and summarize the evidence on the prevalence of problematic use of opioids in adults with chronic noncancer pain and investigate whether the prevalence rates were changing over time. Databases and Data Treatment A systematic review of the literature was undertaken following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses statement. We systematically searched the literature in the electronic databases MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and Web of Science and studies with adult participants with chronic noncancer pain using opioids with indication of one or more of the following terms about problematic opioid use: abuse, misuse, addiction, dependence, problematic use, and aberrant behavior/use were eligible for data extraction. Meta‐analysis was performed to estimate the pooled prevalence rates using a random‐effects model, and subanalysis was conducted. Results Our search identified a total of 784 potentially relevant studies. After a thorough evaluation, 19 papers, mostly from the United States, were included in our qualitative and quantitative synthesis. The majority of the data came from speciality pain clinics. The estimated prevalence of problematic use of opioids in adults with chronic noncancer pain was 36.3% (95% confidence interval: 27.4 to 45.2%; I 2 = 99.64%). Problematic opioid use was mostly identified using the questionnaire method. Thirteen studies (68%) presented a low risk of bias. Conclusions Our study presents an alarming estimate regarding the prevalence of problematic use of opioids among patients with noncancer pain. These results deserve special attention from health care professionals and health authorities.