A comment on pattern of opioid use in sickle cell disease

Characterization of opioid use in sickle cell disease

“…There is a misconception that patients with SCD tend to use more opioids than other chronic pain syndromes. 7 Our results here showed that the majority of patients with SCD (60.1%) did not use opioids on a daily basis, either because some SCD patients had pain but did not require opioids or because not all SCD patients experience daily pain. Previous studies showed that SCD patients have self-reported pain in 17–55% of the observed days.…”

“…In this study, an administrative medical and pharmacy claims database was utilized to identify a large number of subjects with SCD and pharmacy dispensing records were extracted to evaluate patterns of opioid use. There is a misconception that patients with SCD tend to use more opioids than other chronic pain syndromes . Our results here showed that the majority of patients with SCD (60.1%) did not use opioids on a daily basis, either because some SCD patients had pain but did not require opioids or because not all SCD patients experience daily pain.…”

“…Opioid analgesics are a mainstay of pharmacotherapy in treating pain episodes in SCD, although doses and types of opiate medications vary greatly among SCD patients . The evidence on the patterns of opioid use in this patient population is rather limited, and there is still controversy on the dose of opioids that SCD patients use in their daily life . Many believe that patients with SCD tend to use more opioids than many other chronic pain conditions, whereas some studies showed a relatively low opioid dose used in this patient population in their daily life .…”

“…5 The evidence on the patterns of opioid use in this patient population is rather limited, and there is still controversy on the dose of opioids that SCD patients use in their daily life. 6,7 Many believe that patients with SCD tend to use more opioids than many other chronic pain conditions, 7 whereas some studies showed a relatively low opioid dose used in this patient population in their daily life. 5,8,9 But most of the previous studies were based on single-institutions with relatively small sample sizes or based on a self-reported questionnaire or diary, 5,8,9 which may limit the generalizability of the results.…”