Guideline for opioid therapy and chronic noncancer pain

Hronic noncancer pain includes any painful condition that persists for at least three months and is not associated with malignant disease. n North America, clinicians commonly prescribe opioids for acute pain, palliative care (in particular, for patients with cancer) and chronic noncancer pain. Canada has the second highest rate per capita of opioid prescribing in the world when measured using defined daily doses, and the highest when defined using morphine equivalents dispensed, with more than 800 morphine equivalents per capita in 2011. ubstantial risks accompany the use of opioids in chronic noncancer pain. In Ontario, admissions to publicly funded treatment programs for opioid-related problems doubled from…