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Pain Control in the Presence of Drug Addiction

  • Other Pain (N Vadivelu and A Kaye, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Pain and Headache Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Drug addiction is present in a significant proportion of the population in the USA and worldwide. Drug addiction can occur with the abuse of many types of substances including cocaine, marijuana, stimulants, alcohol, opioids, and tranquilizers. There is a high likelihood that clinicians will encounter patients with substance abuse disorders on a regular basis with the prevalence of the use of illicit substances and the high rate of abuse of prescription drugs. The use of abuse deterrent formulations of prescription opioid agents, pill counts, and urine drug abuse screenings are all useful strategies. Optimum pain management of patients with addiction in the outpatient and inpatient setting is essential to minimize pain states. Careful selection of medications and appropriate oversight, including drug agreements, can reduce drug-induced impairments, including sleep deficits and diminished physical, social, and sexual functioning. This review, therefore, discusses the prevalence of illicit and prescription drug addiction, the challenges of achieving optimum pain control, and the therapeutic approaches to be considered in this challenging population. More research is warranted to develop improved therapies and routes of treatments for optimum pain relief and to prevent the development of central sensitization, chronic pain, and impaired physical and social functioning in patients with drug addiction.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Nalini Vadivelu

  2. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Leandro Lumermann & Richard Zhu

  3. California North State University College of Medicine, 9700 W Taron, Elk Grove, CA, 95757, USA

    Gopal Kodumudi

  4. Department of Anesthesiology, LSU School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Amir O. Elhassan & Alan David Kaye

Authors
  1. Nalini Vadivelu
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  2. Leandro Lumermann
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  3. Richard Zhu
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  4. Gopal Kodumudi
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  5. Amir O. Elhassan
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  6. Alan David Kaye
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Correspondence to Nalini Vadivelu.

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Nalini Vadivelu, Leandro Lumermann, Richard Zhu, Gopal Kodumudi, Amir O. Elhassan, and Alan David Kaye declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Other Pain

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Vadivelu, N., Lumermann, L., Zhu, R. et al. Pain Control in the Presence of Drug Addiction. Curr Pain Headache Rep 20, 35 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-016-0561-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-016-0561-0

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