Pain and Aberrant Drug-Related Behaviors in Medically Ill Patients With and Without Histories of Substance Abuse

Abstract

These data suggest that AIDS patients with histories of substance abuse receiving opioid therapy are more symptomatic, have more distress, experience more interference from residual pain, and engage in more problematic drug-related behaviors than patients with no history of drug abuse receiving opioids for cancer pain. Treatment of substance abusers with pain requires skills that complement best practices in opioid prescribing. Better approaches to the long-term treatment of these populations are needed.