Medical Studies

ARPO has compiled a list of previous medical studies related to prescription opioids below. You can learn about more recent studies and find updates on studies currently in progress by visiting our blog.

Featured Study

• Dhalla, Irfan A, Navindra Persaud, and David A. Juurlink. Facing Up to the Prescription Opioid Crisis. British Medical Journal, August 2011.
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• Ballantyne, J.C. Opioids for chronic pain: taking stock. Pain 2006; 125: 3-4.
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• Ballantyne, JC. Pain medicine: Repairing a fractured dream. Anesthesiology 2011; 114(2): 243-246.
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• Ballantyne JC, Shin NS. Efficacy of opioids for chronic pain: a review of the evidence. Clin J Pain 2008; 24:469-78.
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• Banta-Green CJ, Merrill JO, Doyle SR, Boudreau DM, Calsyn DA. Measurement of opioid problems among chronic pain patients in a general medical population. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2009; 104:43-49.
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• Becker WC, Fiellin DA, Gallagher RM, Barth KS, Ross JT, Oslin DW. The association between chronic pain and prescription drug abuse in Veterans. Pain Medicine 2009; 10:531-536.
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• Boscarino JA, Rutstalis M, Hoffman SN, Han JJ, Erlich PM, Gerhard GS, Stewart WF. Risk factors for drug dependence among out-patients on opioid therapy in a large US health-care system. Addiction 2010; 105:1776-1782.
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• Chou R, Ballantyne JC, Fanciullo GJ, Fine PG, Miaskowski C. Research gaps on use of opioids for chronic noncancer pain: Findings from a review of the evidence for an American Pain Society and American Academy of Pain Medicine clinical practice guideline: J Pain 2009; 10:147-59.
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• Chou R, Clark E, Helfand M. Comparative efficacy and safety of long-acting oral opioids for chronic non-cancer pain: a systematic review. J Pain Symptom Manage 2003; 26:1026-1048.
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• Dhalla IA, Mamdani MM, Sivilotti MLA, Kopp A, Qureshi O, Juurlink DN. Prescribing of opioid analgesics and related mortality before and after the introduction of long-acting Oxycodone. CMAJ 2009; 181 (12).
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• Dhalla IA, Persaud N, Juurlink DA.  Facing up to the prescription opioid crisis.  British Medical Journal, August 2011. http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.d5142?ijkey=rxMzBPhqauinvHP&keytype=ref
• Dunn KM, Saunders KW, Rutter CM, Banta-Green CJ, Merrill JO, Sullivan MD, Weisner CM, Silverberg MJ, Campbell CI, Psaty BM, Von Korff M. Opioid prescriptions for chronic pain and overdose: a cohort study. Annals of Internal Medicine 2010; 152:85-92.
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• Gomes, T, Mamdani, M. M., Dhalla, I.A., Paterson, J.M., Juurlink, D.M. Less is more: Opioid dose and drug-related mortality in patients with nonmalignant pain. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171(7):686-691. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.117.
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• Gomes T, Juurlink DN, Dhalla IA, Mailis-Gagnona A, Paterson JM, Mamdani MM. Trends in opioid use and dosing among socio-economically disadvantaged patients. Open Medicine, Vol 5, No 1 (2011).
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• Gomes T, Juurlink DN, Moineddin R, Gozdyra P, Dhalla I, Paterson JM, Mamdani MM. Geographical variation in opioid prescribing and opioids-related mortality in Ontario. Healthcare Quarterly 2011; Vol. 14(1): 22-24.
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• Katz MH. Long-term opioid treatment of nonmalignant pain: A believer loses his faith. Arch Intern Med 2010: 170:1422-4.
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• Martell BA, O’Connor PG, Kerns RD, Becker WC, Morales KH, Kosten TR, et al. Systematic review: opioid treatment for chronic back pain: prevalence, efficacy, and association with addiction. Ann Intern Med 2007; 146:116-27.
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• Moore, T.J., Cohen, M.R. and C.D. Furberg. 2007. Serious adverse drug events reported to the Food and Drug Administration, 1998-2005. Arch Intern Med. 2007; (16): 1752-1759.
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• Okie, S. A Flood of Opioids, a Rising Tide of Deaths. New England Journal of Medicine 2010; 363(21): 1981–1985.
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• Paulozzi, L.J. and R.H. Weisler. A national epidemic of unintentional prescription opioid overdose deaths: How physicians can help control it. J. Clin. Psychiatry April 19 2011.
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• Paulozzi LJ, Ryan GW. Opioid analgesics and rates of fatal drug poisoning in the United States. Am J Prev Med 2006; 31:506-11.
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• Toblin, R.L., K.A. Mack, G. Perveen, and L.J. Paulozzi. A population-based survey of chronic pain and its treatment with prescription drugs. Pain 2011 (Article in Press).
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• Van Zee A. The promotion and marketing of OxyContin: commercial triumph, public health tragedy. Amer J Public Health 2009; 99 (2): 1-7.
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