[No addiction in pain patients? Questions of a reading physician].
BACKGROUND
In some recent German textbooks of pain management there is maintained that psychological dependence to opioids in pain patients is not a real problem. The evidence for this statement is reviewed.


METHODS
Reading of the cited literature and additional MEDLINE search.


RESULTS
Not a single convincing clinical study could be found in the references to proof the claimed absence of addiction in pain patients. The central topics of some papers cited had not been taken into account, other papers have been cited distorting their meaning or overemphasizing their true importance.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the assertion of the contrary, the maintenance of no addiction in pain patients, especially in noncancer pain, seems to be not yet proven.
Mindach
M
M
Klinik für Neurologie, Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder). Mindach@t-online.de