The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7251 p741
31 May 2003

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Pain common in addiction

Chronic severe pain is experienced by 37 per cent of patients on methadone maintenance treatment programmes and 24 per cent of patients on inpatient addiction programmes, a study has found. Pain was given as one of the reasons for using drugs.

Substance abuse treatment programmes need to develop comprehensive and structured pain management protocols, the study concludes (JAMA 2003;289:2370).