The Effectiveness and Risks of Long-Term Opioid Treatment of Chronic Pain

In September 2014, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) issued an Evidence Report/Technology Assessment (Number 218) providing a systematic review of the current evidence on effectiveness and harms of opioid therapy for chronic pain, focusing on long-term (>1 year) outcomes. The study concludes that evidence on long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain is very limited, but suggests an increased risk of serious harms that appears to be dose-dependent. The report states that more research is needed to understand long-term benefits, risk of abuse and related outcomes, and effectiveness of different opioid prescribing methods . . .