Short-Acting Opioids Are Associated with Comparable Analgesia to Long-Acting Opioids in Patients with Chronic Osteoarthritis with a Reduced Opioid Equivalence Dosing

Setting: There are no studies that exist within the primary care setting that address optimal opioid therapy in osteoarthritis patients. In light of the recently released US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on opioid use in chronic noncancer pain, there is a pressing need to better characterize the effectiveness of long- and short-acting opioids.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of short-acting opioids (SAO) vs long-acting opioids (LAO) and combination therapies (SAO and LAO) for treating chronic osteoarthritis pain in a retrospective trial.

Methods: Average and lowest pain scores approximately one to two weeks prior to patient appointments were collected and averaged for both SAO and LAO patients who were actively enrolled in a pain clinic at an academic medical center.

Results: There was no statistical difference between reported average and low pain scores for the SAO vs LAO groups (P = 0.201 and P = 0.296, respectively), although the SAO group on average had a significantly lower morphine equivalence (P < 0.001). Various covariates for both groups were tested in an adjusted model to look at trends in the use of nonopioid medications (i.e., acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antidepressants, and adjunct analgesic agents). No significant differences in pain scores existed when comparing covariates for the SAO vs LAO groups.

Conclusions: The study suggests that in addition to being effective, short-acting opioid medications may also provide a safer and cheaper alternative to long-acting opioid therapies in the treatment of chronic osteoarthritis.

Perspective: This article investigates the effectiveness of short-acting vs long-acting opioids for the treatment of chronic noncancer pain, specifically osteoarthritis. This information could potentially aid practitioners in primary care environments to design equally efficacious and less costly opioid regimens, while simultaneously enhancing patient safety.