Drug utilization patterns in chronic pain patients

Abstract

In the population of chronic pain patients seen at multidisciplinary pain clinics, excessive and/or inappropriate medication use is a frequent problem. This study examined differences among chronic pain patients who used no addicting medication (30% of the sample of 131 patients), those who used narcotic but not sedative medications (33%) and those who used both narcotic and sedative medications (37%). Patients in the narcotic and narcotic-sedative groups had undergone significantly more pain-related hospitalizations and surgeries than those in the no-addicting-drugs group. Narcotic-sedative patients spent significantly more money on pain medication per month, reported significantly greater physical impairment, and had higher MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) hypochondriasis and hysteria scores than the other patients. The findings are interpreted in light of the hypothesis that certain patients show greater readiness to complain of and seek help for physical symptoms.