title: The use of opioid medications in patients with chronic non-malignant pain who have drug dependence.
abstract: The use of opioid medications in the management of painful medical conditions is currently being 'rediscovered'. However, although drug-dependent patients are likely to be over-represented in the chronic pain population and are also arguably less likely to respond to non-pharmacological interventions for chronic pain, opioid medications are considered to be relatively contraindicated for such a patient group. This paper explores, first, the background to this situation before proposing a set of interim guidelines for the use of opioid medications in the management of chronic pain in drug-dependent patients in order to protect access to this treatment strategy for this difficult patient group, while data from controlled studies are obtained for more definitive policy formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch School of Medicine, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Sellman
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Macleod