Joao P De Aquino1, Suprit Parida2, Victor J Avila-Quintero3, Jose Flores3, Peggy Compton4, Thomas Hickey5, Oscar Gómez6, Mehmet Sofuoglu2. 1. VA Connecticut Healthcare System, 950 Campbell Avenue, Building 36/116A4, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. Electronic address: joao.deaquino@yale.edu. 2. VA Connecticut Healthcare System, 950 Campbell Avenue, Building 36/116A4, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. 3. Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. 4. Department of Family and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania, 418 Curie Boulevard, Room 402, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. 5. VA Connecticut Healthcare System, 950 Campbell Avenue, Building 36/116A4, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. 6. Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 7th Street, 46-62, Bogota, Colombia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Treating acute pain among persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) on opioid agonist therapy (OAT) is complex, and the therapeutic benefits of opioids remain unclear when weighted against their abuse potential and respiratory depressant effects. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of experimental pain studies examining opioid-induced analgesia among persons with OUD on OAT. We searched multiple databases from inception to July 30, 2021. Study quality was assessed by previously established validity measures. RESULTS: Nine studies were identified, with a total of 225 participants, of whom 63% were male, and 37% were female. Six studies included methadone-maintained persons with OUD; four studies included buprenorphine-maintained persons with OUD; and three studies included healthy persons as comparison groups. Either additional doses of OAT or other opioids - morphine, oxycodone, hydromorphone, or remifentanil - were administered. In seven studies, persons with OUD on OAT did not experience analgesia, despite receiving opioid doses up to 20 times greater than those clinically used to treat severe pain among the opioid naïve. Conversely, in two studies, high-potency opioids did produce analgesia, albeit with greater abuse potential. Notably, persons with OUD on OAT remained vulnerable to respiratory depression. CONCLUSIONS: Although persons with OUD on OAT can derive analgesic effects from opioids, high-potency compounds may be required to achieve clinically significant pain relief. Further, persons with OUD on OAT may remain vulnerable to opioid-induced abuse potential and respiratory depression. Together, these finding have clinical, methodological, and mechanistic implications for the treatment of acute pain in the context of OAT.
BACKGROUND: Treating acute pain among persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) on opioid agonist therapy (OAT) is complex, and the therapeutic benefits of opioids remain unclear when weighted against their abuse potential and respiratory depressant effects. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of experimental pain studies examining opioid-induced analgesia among persons with OUD on OAT. We searched multiple databases from inception to July 30, 2021. Study quality was assessed by previously established validity measures. RESULTS: Nine studies were identified, with a total of 225 participants, of whom 63% were male, and 37% were female. Six studies included methadone-maintained persons with OUD; four studies included buprenorphine-maintained persons with OUD; and three studies included healthy persons as comparison groups. Either additional doses of OAT or other opioids - morphine, oxycodone, hydromorphone, or remifentanil - were administered. In seven studies, persons with OUD on OAT did not experience analgesia, despite receiving opioid doses up to 20 times greater than those clinically used to treat severe pain among the opioid naïve. Conversely, in two studies, high-potency opioids did produce analgesia, albeit with greater abuse potential. Notably, persons with OUD on OAT remained vulnerable to respiratory depression. CONCLUSIONS: Although persons with OUD on OAT can derive analgesic effects from opioids, high-potency compounds may be required to achieve clinically significant pain relief. Further, persons with OUD on OAT may remain vulnerable to opioid-induced abuse potential and respiratory depression. Together, these finding have clinical, methodological, and mechanistic implications for the treatment of acute pain in the context of OAT.
Authors: Gabrielle Agin-Liebes; Andrew S Huhn; Eric C Strain; George E Bigelow; Michael T Smith; Robert R Edwards; Valerie A Gruber; D Andrew Tompkins Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 2021-06-25 Impact factor: 4.852