Measuring opioid dependence in chronic pain patients: A comparison between addiction clinic and pain clinic patient populations

Abstract

Objective: To compare dependence characteristics between patients with chronic pain treated within an addiction medicine setting with those attending specialist pain clinics. Setting and patients: Forty patients with chronic non-cancer pain taking opioid analgesics for >1 year were recruited from university-affiliated, tertiary teaching hospital clinics; 20 from an addiction medicine clinic (addiction clinic group) and 20 from specialist pain clinics (pain clinic group). Design and main outcome measures: Data regarding demographics, past and current substance use, pain history and current daily opioid intake were collected. Patients completed three questionnaires: the Severity of Opioid Depe..