An investigative newspaper article published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in cooperation with online periodical MedPage Today, chronicles the increased use of narcotics for chronic pain relief in the elderly.
The article highlights how in 2009 the American Geriatrics Society put together a panel of geriatric pain specialists who published geriatric narcotic pain relief guidelines that have led to the dramatic increase in use of narcotics in the elderly. There is apparently no outstanding or solid evidence that opioids or narcotics actually work better than non-narcotic pain medications in relieving the chronic pain of senior citizens.
It is the Milwaukee Journal’s opinion that the members of the blue ribbon panel who made this decision received financial benefits from the pharmaceutical manufacturers who produce narcotic pain pills and were biased in their recommendations. Individual members of the panel received financial rewards from the companies making the narcotic pain pills and the sponsoring organization, the American Geriatric Society, reportedly received $344,000 from opioid manufacturers.
A study in the 2010 Annals of Internal Medicine looked at over 10,000 people who had received 3 or more opioid prescriptions over a 90 day period. The researchers found that 51 had suffered an overdose including six deaths. Of the 40 most serious overdoses, 15 occurred in those aged 65 or older. A 2010 research paper in the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at 12,840 Medicare patients with an average age of 80 who had used opioids, traditional anti-inflammatory drugs, or a class of non narcotic prescription painkillers like Celebrex. Their findings included:
- opioid users were more than four times more likely to suffer a fall with a fracture than non-opioid users
- deaths from any cause were 87% more likely in opioid users.
- cardiovascular complications including heart attacks, strokes, and cardiac death were 77% higher in opioid users than in users of NSAIDS.
In part, as a result of the American Geriatrics Society guidelines, opioid use for pain relief has increased by over 32% since 2007. Locally, we have seen the proliferation of pain clinics. These clinics, often owned by non-physicians, bear some responsibility for the proliferation of narcotic pain pills on the streets of America being used illegally. Poorly conceived state legislation and the lack of surveillance and monitoring led out-of-state drug pushers to drive into Florida, hire individuals to doctor shop from pain clinic to pain clinic where they accumulate thousands of pills that are sold out of state on the streets illegally. Ultimately this led to a law enforcement and statewide crackdown which drove illegal and legitimate pain specialists out of the state of Florida. It is almost impossible to find a certified pain physician in Palm Beach or Broward County who will take on a new patient under the age of 65 years old due to the legal hurdles recently imposed on them to crack down on the illegal dispensing of drugs.
George Lundberg, MD and Maria Sullivan, MD of Columbia University presented a sane and reasonable approach to pain pill management in MedPage Today. They suggested that non-narcotic pain products be tried initially. They encouraged doctors and nurses to discuss the side effects of narcotics with patients including constipation, sedation, addiction, and overdose and with long term use the risk of hyperalgesia and sexual dysfunction.
They noted the high abuse potential of short acting opioids such as Dilaudid (hydromorphone) and Vicodin (hydrocodone/acetaminophen) and pointed out that these drugs may be good for short term initial pain relief but not chronic use. They reviewed the pharmacology of methadone and pointed out that it is responsible for far too many overdoses due to its basic metabolism and mechanism of action. They suggested never using it in patients who have not taken opioid narcotics regularly.
They discussed the need for patients to keep controlled substances in a secure and locked place to prevent theft of the medication.
For those practitioners who prescribe opioids for chronic pain they suggested having a chronic pain narcotic protocol including a medication contract with the patient that outlines its correct use. Psychological evaluation for abuse potential should be considered in all chronic pain patients prescribed narcotics. Urine toxicology screening periodically should be performed to look for abuse. There are clinical interview screening materials such as the SOAPP (Screening and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain) form which helps identify individuals with a high risk of abuse. Stratifying your pain patients into low, medium, and high risk individuals may help distinguish the level of surveillance necessary to safely treat the patients.
It would make great sense for the state of Florida and the Florida Medical Association to develop a common sense pain management course for practicing providers to take prior to renewing their state medical licenses. The course would cover the newer pain protocols and medicines and review the safe and monitored use of opioid narcotics. We must treat and eliminate or reduce pain. We just need to do this in a safer manner.
Steven Reznick is an internal medicine physician and can be reached at Boca Raton Concierge Doctor.
