Opioid therapy for chronic pancreatitis: Controlling aberrant use through behavioral management

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1999

Publication Title

General Hospital Psychiatry

Volume

21

Issue

2

First page number:

137

Last page number:

140

Abstract

Recurrent or continuous abdominal pain is present in approximately 75% of patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). Although selected patients may benefit from surgical and endoscopic interventions, many experience enduring pain. For this subgroup of patients, CP pain is chronic, intense, and often incapacitating. Analgesic therapy is a mainstay of pancreatic pain management for these patients, and up to 20% of all patients with CP engage in frequent use of opioid derivatives. The following case illustrates the difficulties that can arise from opiate therapy for the management of chronic pancreatic pain, the disruptive effect of aberrant use patterns on the patient and health care providers, and the potential inefficacy of narcotic analgesics for long-term pain management. More importantly, this case illustrates the efficacy of behavioral pain management techniques for chronic pancreatic pain and the reduction and stabilization of opioid consumption.

Keywords

Chronic pain--Psychological aspects; Drug addiction—Prevention; Mental health counseling; Pain—Treatment

Disciplines

Community-Based Research | Counseling Psychology | Health Psychology | Medicine and Health | Psychiatry and Psychology | Psychology

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited

Publisher Citation

Correspondence, General Hospital Psychiatry, Volume 21, Issue 2, March–April 1999, Pages 137-140, ISSN 0163-8343, 10.1016/S0163-8343(99)00002-X.

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