centered image

centered image

NEW STUDY TO LOOK AT OPIOID PRESCRIPTIONS

Discussion in 'Anesthesia' started by John Jossef, Mar 25, 2011.

  1. John Jossef

    John Jossef Bronze Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2011
    Messages:
    349
    Likes Received:
    46
    Trophy Points:
    745
    Practicing medicine in:
    Bulgaria

    A new year-long study will look at how pain specialists and primary care doctors are prescribing opioids for non-cancer pain, according to reports published in Anesthesiology News and elsewhere.

    Called OPUS (Opioid Utlization Study) the study is sponsored by Endo Pharmaceuticals. It will create an observational, noninterventional patient registry that will help delineate the use of opioids in the treatment of chronic noncancer pain. The purpose is to gain a better understanding of what physicians are doing when it comes to managing chronic pain patients.

    The registry will be managed by a health outcomes company separate from Endo, according to Anesthesiology News, and will collect data on 2,000 chronic pain patients located in 80 sites throughout the U.S.

    Adults taking an opioid for any chronic pain condition will be eligible for the registry. The large database will allow statisticians involved in the study to extract significant data on specific drug treatments, including treatments that are rarely administered.

    OPUS will collect data from practices of various sizes and will include both anesthesiologists and primary care physicians, with an equal split between pain management centers and primary care practices. An additional 10 percent of the sites will examine several other specialties that also manage chronic pain patients. Data will be collected at baseline, six months and one year of opioid treatment.

    Registry data will be broken out in three ways. Pain management choices made by physicians will be grouped in one category. Patient information will be grouped in a second, and cost related data will be included in a third.

    Patients will be asked to fill out four questionnaires. One will be a Short-Form 12 Health Survey and a second a Brief Pain Inventory. These questionnaires will be used to collect information on the effects of patient pain on patient quality of life. A third form, called the Depression, Anxiety and Positive Outlook Scale, will measure the emotional state of patients. A fourth form
     

    Add Reply

Share This Page

<