Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The societal problem of opioid addiction

Albert Fuchs, MD
Meds
March 6, 2014
89 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Opioids are a family of pain medications chemically related to opium and heroin. They include morphine, fentanyl, codeine, hydromorphone and others. Opioids have unique properties that make them both indispensable for pain management and extremely dangerous.

Unlike virtually any other family of medications, opioids have no maximum effective dose. If any dose, no matter how high, is ineffective at controlling pain, a higher dose can give more pain relief. Most other medications don’t work this way. For example, if 800mg of ibuprofen doesn’t bring relief, it’s very unlikely that any higher dose will. This property makes opioids a mainstay for treating severe acute pain, such as from fractures or after surgery.

But the risks and side-effects are substantial. Tolerance (diminished effectiveness with repeated use) is a common problem requiring dose escalation to maintain the same pain relief. Withdrawal symptoms are miserable (but not dangerous) and addiction is very common. The most serious risk is that opioids decrease the drive to breathe. In patients who are dying and short of breath, this is a welcome benefit, not a side effect. Opioids are essential in hospice care because of their ability to eliminate the sense of shortness of breath. But that same effect in an overdose can stop breathing entirely. Philip Seymour Hoffman is only the most recent well-known victim of this property of opioids.

When I did my residency in the mid-90s the philosophy I was taught about opioids was simple. Opioids were for acute pain. If you broke a bone or had a documented kidney stone you could have a prescription that would last a week or so. Patient requests for more prolonged treatment were met with suspicion. The exception was for dying patients. If you had chronic pain form a disease that was going to kill you, you could have all the opioids you wanted. But if you had chronic pain from arthritis, or chronic back pain, or anything else non-fatal, then opioids were simply off the table. You had to make due with other medicines.

Sometime thereafter, we went through a revolution in our attitude. I’m not a pain specialist, so I don’t know if the revolution was supported by any scientific evidence or was simply a change in philosophy. The new teaching was that pain should be treated seriously, and that doctors had been negligent in providing their patients adequate pain relief. Since pain is an entirely subjective experience, there is no test or objective measurement for pain, and the patient’s report of pain should be accepted at face value. The use of opioid analgesics for chronic conditions became acceptable when other options failed.

What followed was an explosion of opioid prescriptions, opioid addiction, and overdose deaths. In 1999 in the U.S. 4,030 people died from overdoses of opioid prescription medications. In 2010 that number had more than quadrupled to 16,651. Since 2003, more people have died from overdoses due to prescription opioids than due to heroin and cocaine combined.

The American College of Physicians recently issued a policy position paper about prescription drug abuse. It was much more of a description of the current dilemma and a recommendation for future research than a guideline for prescribing physicians. The latter is what is desperately needed.

Adding fuel to this fire is the FDA’s decision this week to approve Zohydro, a new extended release formulation of hydrocodone. This decision has received much criticism from physician groups (see links to news articles below) who warn that the potential for abuse and overdose is enormous and that the need for another opioid analgesic is nonexistent.

Has our new more lax prescribing philosophy allowed some chronic pain patients to achieve adequate relief? Is the epidemic of addiction and overdose deaths simply a terrible but acceptable price to pay for the benefit of a far greater number of people who use opiates responsibly? I honestly don’t know. I would love to hear from a pain specialist if any rigorous studies exist on the topic. The societal problem of opioid addiction may have no solutions, only tradeoffs. It would be nice if those tradeoffs were informed by data.

Albert Fuchs is an internal medicine physician who blogs at his self-titled site, Albert Fuchs, MD.

Prev

Does texting ER wait times affect patient care?

March 6, 2014 Kevin 3
…
Next

The risks of treating high blood pressure in the elderly

March 6, 2014 Kevin 7
…

Tagged as: Medications

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Does texting ER wait times affect patient care?
Next Post >
The risks of treating high blood pressure in the elderly

More by Albert Fuchs, MD

  • Processed meats and cancer: How much is too much?

    Albert Fuchs, MD
  • This is the best way to treat chronic insomnia

    Albert Fuchs, MD
  • Paying people to quit smoking. Does it work?

    Albert Fuchs, MD

More in Meds

  • Levamisole is good for your dog, but bad for your cocaine

    Robert Killeen, MD
  • 13.1 million missing Americans since 1980. Where’s the outrage?

    Steve Burgess, MD
  • Ketamine for mental health conditions: What every primary care physician needs to know

    Carlene MacMillan, MD & L. Alison McInnes, MD
  • Learn to be a Narcan hero: a comic tutorial

    Emily Watters, MD
  • The preference for insurance coverage of opioids over non-pharmaceutical options explained

    Amy Baxter, MD
  • A comic reveals the terrifying truth about fentanyl

    Emily Watters, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How to facilitate caregiver learning and support to improve clinical care outcomes

      Kerri Milyko, PhD | Tech
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • Exploring HIV care and advocacy [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • The art of pediatrics: Connecting through observation

      Alexander Rakowsky, MD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 38 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Are Obesity Drugs for Adolescents Cost-Effective?
  • Lab Tests That Escape FDA Oversight May Come Under Agency Review
  • Fezolinetant Benefits Women Not Suited for Hormone Therapy
  • Low Tidal Volume Compliance Still Lacking in Mechanical Ventilation
  • IV Immunoglobulin May Cut Infection Risk of Anti-BCMA Agents for Myeloma

Meeting Coverage

  • Fezolinetant Benefits Women Not Suited for Hormone Therapy
  • Plant-Based Estrogen Improves Lipids in Postmenopausal Women
  • New Schizophrenia Treatments Are Coming: Don't Panic
  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How to facilitate caregiver learning and support to improve clinical care outcomes

      Kerri Milyko, PhD | Tech
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • Exploring HIV care and advocacy [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • The art of pediatrics: Connecting through observation

      Alexander Rakowsky, MD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The societal problem of opioid addiction
38 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...