Chronic pain, substance abuse and addiction

Health care professionals face numerous challenges in assessing and treating chronic pain patients with a substance abuse history. Societal perspectives on morality and criminality, imprecise addiction terminology, litigation fears, and genuine concern for a patient's relapse into or escalation of substance abuse result in unrelieved and under-relieved pain in precisely the population that--as increasing evidence indicates--is generally intolerant of pain. Before adequate pain relief can occur in chronic pain patients with current or past substance abuse issues, it is imperative that the clinician recognize addiction as a disease with known symptoms and treatments. Further, the clinician must realize the difference between true addiction and similar conditions, so the patient's condition can be monitored and regulated properly. Although clinicians are often reluctant to medicate with opioids, it is always best to err on the side of adequate pain relief. Withholding opioids from chronic pain patients in order to avoid the onset or relapse of addiction is contrary to the growing body of evidence and results only in unnecessary pain for the patient. Chronic pain in patients with a history of addictive disease can be treated successfully with opiate analgesia; it just requires caution and careful monitoring of medication use. If addiction is treated as a known risk when providing opioid analgesia to a recovering addict, its development can be minimized while pain relief is provided.