title: Clinical efficacy of OROS® hydromorphone in patients suffering from severe chronic pain: A Study undertaken in routine clinical practice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Strong opioids are efficient drugs for treating chronic pain. In cancer patients, strong opioids are the mainstay of pain management, but in non-cancer pain caution is advised due to possible adverse effects, addictive potential and drug abuse.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We studied the efficacy of OROS(®) hydromorphone in the treatment of chronic pain, the appearance and frequency of any adverse effects, the impact upon quality of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between April 2008 and May 2009 197 patients who received OROS hydromorphone for the treatment of severe chronic pain were monitored for 90 days. Seventy patients had cancer-related pain and 127 suffered pain due to non-malignant diseases, mostly degenerative joint disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the monitoring period, the average pain score on the VAS scale fell from 8.1 to 3.3. A total of 70 adverse effects (AE) were reported and 17 patients stopped treatment due to these AE. The most frequent AEs included drowsiness, headache, vertigo, nausea, vomiting and constipation. According to patients, their quality of life greatly improved during the monitoring period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The severity of patients' pain decreased during treatment with OROS hydromorphone with few adverse effects. The observed pain relief was accompanied by an improvement in the quality of the patients' lives.
authors.affiliation: Community Health Centre Kranj, Kranj, Slovenia. aleksander.stepanovic1@guest.arnes.si
authors.forename: Aleksander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stepanović
authors.forename: Jelka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pirc
authors.forename: Slavica
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lahajnar Čavlović
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D004091:Hydromorphone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000187:drug effects; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D017524:Slovenia; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D004091:Hydromorphone