Opioid Therapy in 2012: A Call for a High Degree of Attention to Detail

Abstract

Determining the number of patients with pain in theU.S. has been a difficult task because calculations of the prevalence of pain vary depending on the definitions of the levels of pain andon themethodsused toquantify it. Recently, however, the Institute of Medicine estimated that in 2011 there were 100 million individuals with pain in the U.S. This calculation was made based on a study that used the World Health Organization’s World Mental Health Surveys instrument in 10 developed countries and concluded that approximately 37% of adults have common chronic pain conditions. It is noteworthy that this number includes neither patients with acute pain nor children with pain. The high prevalence of pain has led to an increase in the use of prescription analgesics, including opioids. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed an increase in the percentage of Americans using opioids from the period 1988e1994 (3.2%) to the period 2005e2008 (5.7%). Of these individuals, 7% were patients aged 65 years or older. Moreover, according to theWhite House Action Plan, the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed by retail pharmacies increased by an astounding 48%, to 257 million prescriptions