Opioid tolerance and hyperalgesia in chronic pain patients after one month of oral morphine therapy: a preliminary prospective study.
There is accumulating evidence that opioid therapy might not only be associated with the development of tolerance but also with an increased sensitivity to pain, a condition referred to as opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). However, there are no prospective studies documenting the development of opioid tolerance or OIH in patients with chronic pain. This preliminary study in 6 patients with chronic low back pain prospectively evaluated the development of tolerance and OIH. Patients were assessed before and 1 month after initiating oral morphine therapy. The cold pressor test and experimental heat pain were used to measure pain sensitivity before and during a target-controlled infusion with the short-acting mu opioid agonist remifentanil. In the cold pressor test, all patients became hyperalgesic as well as tolerant after 1 month of oral morphine therapy. In a model of heat pain, patients exhibited no hyperalgesia, although tolerance could not be evaluated. These results provide the first prospective evidence for the development of analgesic tolerance and OIH by using experimental pain in patients with chronic back pain. This study also validated methodology for prospectively studying these phenomena in larger populations of pain patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Experimental evidence suggests that opioid tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia might limit the clinical utility of opioids in controlling chronic pain. This study validates a pharmacologic approach to study these phenomena prospectively in chronic pain patients and suggests that both conditions do occur within 1 month of initiating opioid therapy.
Chu
Larry F
LF
Department of Anesthesia, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305, USA.
Clark
David J
DJ
Angst
Martin S
MS
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000139:chemically induced*; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects; D010880:Piperidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000077208:Remifentanil
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D010880:Piperidines; D009020:Morphine; D000077208:Remifentanil