Here are the results of 1,000 people starting an opioid for chronic pain
*These people have persistent problematic pain despite optimized non-opioid therapy.
112 more people will have noticeable pain relief
58 more people will have constipation/upset stomach
55 people will develop an opioid use disorder*
2 people will have an overdose and live
1-2 people will die from an overdose*
An individual could experience one or more of these results. There is no way to predict which outcomes an individual will experience.
*For 1,000 people with a substance use disorder, 90 people would develop an opioid use disorder,
10 people would have non-fatal overdoses and 5 people would have fatal overdoses.
For 1,000 people with an active psychiatric disorder, 80 people would develop an opioid use disorder, 3 people would have non-fatal overdoses and 2 people would have fatal overdoses.
Here is what happens when we give 10 people opioids and supporting care for 3-6 months
*These people have persistent problematic pain despite optimized non-opioid therapy.
- 1 Person will have adequate relief
- 5 people have relief, but would have improved without opioids
- 4 people no response