Development and Preliminary Evaluation of an Integrated Cognitive-Behavior Treatment for Chronic Pain and Substance Use Disorder in Patients with the Hepatitis C Virus

Alcohol Use Disorder and Chronic Pain: An Overlooked Epidemic

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and chronic pain disorders are pervasive, multifaceted medical conditions that often co-occur. However, their comorbidity is often overlooked, despite its prevalence and clinical relevance. Individuals with AUD are more likely to experience chronic pain than the general population. Conversely, individuals with chronic pain commonly alleviate their pain with alcohol, which may escalate into AUD. This narrative review discusses the intricate relationship between AUD and chronic pain. Based on the literature available, the authors present a theoretical model explaining the reciprocal relationship between AUD and chronic pain across alcohol intoxication and withdrawal. They propose that the use of alcohol for analgesia rapidly gives way to acute tolerance, triggering the need for higher levels of alcohol consumption. Attempts at abstinence lead to alcohol withdrawal syndrome and hyperalgesia, increasing the risk of relapse. Chronic neurobiological changes lead to preoccupation with pain and cravings for alcohol, further entrenching both conditions. To stimulate research in this area, the authors review methodologies to improve the assessment of pain in AUD studies, including self-report and psychophysical methods. Further, they discuss pharmacotherapies and psychotherapies that may target both conditions, potentially improving both AUD and chronic pain outcomes simultaneously. Finally, the authors emphasize the need to manage both conditions concurrently, and encourage both the scientific community and clinicians to ensure that these intertwined conditions are not overlooked given their clinical significance.

A Pilot Investigation of Nonpharmacological Pain Management Intervention Groups in Methadone Maintenance Treatment

OBJECTIVES

We examined the feasibility (i.e., single-session attendance) of conducting 3 counselor-delivered nonpharmacological pain management intervention (NPMI) groups in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT): (1) Coping with Pain, an intervention based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, (2) Wii-Covery, an exergame intervention to facilitate exercise, and (3) Juggling Group, an intervention to promote social inclusion and reduce stress. We examined pre-post session changes in pain and mood associated with group attendance.

METHODS

Over 1 month at an MMT clinic with 1800 patients, each NPMI group was offered daily Monday-Friday and 1 was offered on Saturdays. A standardized but unvalidated measure was administered before and after sessions to assess acute changes in current pain intensity and mood states. Paired t-tests with Bonferroni corrections were performed for each NPMI group (P < 0.0007 [.05/7]).

RESULTS

About 452 patients (67% male, 84% White, mean age, 40) attended at least 1 NPMI group. About 57% reported current chronic pain. Attendance at any NPMI group (for the whole sample and the subset with chronic pain) was significantly associated with acute reductions in current pain intensity, anxiety, depression, and stress, and acute increases in current energy and happiness. Attendance at Coping with Pain and Juggling Group was also associated with acute increases in compassion.

CONCLUSIONS

Coping with Pain, Wii-Covery, and Juggling Group are feasible to conduct in MMT, and acute improvements in current pain intensity and specific mood states associated with a single session attendance point to the importance of examining systematically the efficacy of these and other NPMIs in MMT.

Patients' perceptions of the pathways linking chronic pain with problematic substance use

ABSTRACT

Approximately one-half of patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) experience chronic pain. Yet, how patients perceive the relationship between their substance use and chronic pain remains poorly understood. We sought to identify how patients with comorbid SUD and chronic pain describe the relationship between, and mechanisms linking, these conditions. We conducted qualitative interviews with 34 patients engaged in SUD treatment who were also diagnosed with chronic pain. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded by both primary and secondary coders. Qualitative content analysis guided coding and analysis. Patient interviews revealed 3 primary pathways. One group of participants described SUD as developing independently from their experiences of chronic pain. A second group of participants described turning to substances to self-manage or cope with the physical and emotional aspects of chronic pain. A third group of participants described encounters with opioid medications as the causal agent initiating a SUD. Our findings build on research that has identified chronic pain and SUD as developmentally similar and mutually reinforcing, by revealing the ways in which patients themselves understand and experience the interconnections between their substance use and chronic pain.

A Research Agenda for Advancing Strategies to Improve Opioid Safety: Findings from a VHA State of the Art Conference

US military Veterans have been disproportionately impacted by the US opioid overdose crisis. In the fall of 2019, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) convened a state-of-the-art (SOTA) conference to develop research priorities for advancing the science and clinical practice of opioid safety, including both use of opioid analgesics and managing opioid use disorder. We present the methods and consensus recommendations from the SOTA. A core group of researchers and VA clinical stakeholders defined three areas of focus for the SOTA: managing opioid use disorder, long-term opioid therapy for pain including consideration for opioid tapering, and treatment of co-occurring pain and substance use disorders. The SOTA participants divided into three workgroups and identified key questions and seminal studies related to those three areas of focus. The strongest recommendations included testing implementation strategies in the VHA for expanding access to medication treatment for opioid use disorder, testing collaborative tapering programs for patients prescribed long-term opioids, and larger trials of behavioral and exercise/movement interventions for pain among patients with substance use disorders.

Pain Diagnosis, Pain Coping, and Function in Individuals with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Purpose

Research supports a role for coping responses in adjustment to chronic pain. However, it is likely that some coping responses play a larger role in adjustment to pain for some individuals than others. The identification of the factors that moderate the association between coping responses and pain-related outcomes has important clinical implications. This study sought to determine if musculoskeletal pain diagnosis moderates the associations between eight pain-coping responses and both pain and function.

Patients and Methods

A non-probabilistic sample of 323 persons with different chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions completed measures of pain intensity, physical function, psychological function, and pain-coping responses.

Results

With only one exception, the frequency of use of pain-coping responses was not associated with pain diagnosis. Statistically significant moderation effects of pain diagnosis on the association between coping and pain outcomes were found for two coping responses: 1) support seeking when predicting pain intensity, and 2) resting when predicting both physical and psychological function.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that coping responses tend to play a similar role in patients' pain and function across different musculoskeletal pain conditions, with some important exceptions. If the findings are found to replicate in other samples, they would have important implications for determining when psychosocial pain treatments might (and when they might not) need to be adapted for specific diagnostic groups.

Chronic non-cancer pain among adults with substance use disorders: Prevalence, characteristics, and association with opioid overdose and healthcare utilization

BACKGROUND

Chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) among patients with substance use disorder (SUD) poses a risk for worse treatment outcomes. Understanding the association of CNCP with SUD is important for informing the need and potential benefits of pain assessment/management among those with SUDs.

METHODS

We analyzed electronic health record data from 2013 to 2018 among adults aged ≥18 years (N = 951,533; mean age: 48.4 years; 57.4 % female) in a large academic healthcare system. Adjusted logistic regression models were conducted to estimate the association of CNCP conditions with opioid overdose, emergency department utilization, and inpatient hospitalization stratified by different SUD diagnoses and by gender.

RESULTS

Among the total sample, the prevalence of CNCP was 46.6 % and any SUD was 11.2 %. The majority of patients with a SUD had CNCP (opioid: 74.7 %; sedative: 72.3 %; cannabis: 64.3 %; alcohol: 58.7 %; tobacco: 59.5 %). The prevalence of CNCP was greater in females vs. males for most SUD diagnoses. The presence of CNCP was associated with more mental health disorders and chronic medical conditions among each SUD group. CNCP was associated with significantly decreased odds of overdose among those with opioid use disorder but increased odds of overdose and healthcare utilization among other SUDs. CNCP was positively associated with overdose in females, but not males, with alcohol or non-opioid drug use disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

The direction and magnitude of the association between CNCP and negative health indicators differed as a function of SUD type and gender, respectively. Greater awareness of potential unmet pain treatment need may have implications for improving SUD outcomes.

Clinician Response to Aberrant Urine Drug Test Results of Patients Prescribed Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain

OBJECTIVE

Urine drug testing (UDT) is recommended for patients who are prescribed opioid medications, but little is known about the various strategies clinicians use to respond to aberrant UDT results. We sought to examine changes in opioid prescribing and implementation of other risk reduction activities following an aberrant UDT.

METHODS

In a national cohort of Veterans Affairs patients with new initiations of opioid therapy through 2013, we identified a random sample of 100 patients who had aberrant positive UDTs (results positive for nonprescribed/illicit substance), 100 who had aberrant negative UDTs (results negative for prescribed opioid), and 100 who had expected UDT results. We examined medical record data for opioid prescribing changes and risk reduction strategies in the 12 months following UDT.

RESULTS

Following an aberrant UDT, 17.5% of clinicians documented planning to discontinue or change the opioid dose and 52.5% initiated another strategy to reduce opioid-related risk. In multivariate analyses, variables associated with a planned change in opioid prescription status were having an aberrant positive UDT (odds ratio [OR], 30.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.92-160.10) and higher prescription opioid dose (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.01-1.02). The only variable associated with implementation of other risk reduction activities was having an aberrant positive UDT (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.16-0.55).

DISCUSSION

The majority of clinicians enacted some type of opioid prescribing or other change to reduce risk following an aberrant UDT, and the action depended on whether the result was an aberrant positive or aberrant negative UDT. Experimental studies are needed to develop and test strategies for managing aberrant UDT results.

Alcohol and Pain: A Translational Review of Preclinical and Clinical Findings to Inform Future Treatment Strategies

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and chronic pain are enduring and devastating conditions that share an intersecting epidemiology and neurobiology. Chronic alcohol use itself can produce a characteristic painful neuropathy, while the regular analgesic use of alcohol in the context of nociceptive sensitization and heightened affective pain sensitivity may promote negative reinforcement mechanisms that underlie AUD maintenance and progression. The goal of this review was to provide a broad translational framework that communicates research findings spanning preclinical and clinical studies, including a review of genetic, molecular, behavioral, and social mechanisms that facilitate interactions between persistent pain and alcohol use. We also consider recent evidence that will shape future investigations into novel treatment mechanisms for pain in individuals suffering from AUD.

Childhood Trauma, Emotion Regulation, and Pain in Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder

Introduction: Several studies have confirmed that the experience of childhood trauma, poor emotion regulation, as well as the experience of physical pain may contribute to the development and poor treatment outcomes of alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, little is known about how the joint impact of these experiences may contribute to AUD. Objectives: To analyze associations between childhood trauma, emotion regulation, and pain in individuals with AUD. Methods: The study sample included 165 individuals diagnosed with AUD. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was used to investigate different types of trauma during childhood (physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect), the Brief Symptom Inventory was used to assess anxiety symptoms, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) was used to assess emotional dysregulation, and the Pain Resilience Scale and Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire were used to measure self-reported pain tolerance and sensitivity. Results: Childhood emotional abuse (CTQ subscale score) was positively associated with anxiety, anxiety was positively associated with emotional dysregulation, and emotional dysregulation was negatively associated with pain tolerance. Accordingly, there was support for a significant indirect negative association between childhood emotional abuse and pain tolerance. The serial mediation statistical procedure demonstrated that anxiety and emotional dysregulation mediated the effect of childhood emotional abuse on pain resilience among individuals with AUD. Conclusions: Targeting emotional dysregulation and physical pain that can result from childhood trauma may have particular therapeutic utility among individuals treated for AUD.

Clinical Strategies for the Treatment and Management of Patients Prescribed Long-term Opioid Therapy

OBJECTIVES

Across diverse health care systems, growing recognition of the harms associated with long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for chronic pain has catalyzed substantial changes to policy and practice designed to promote safer prescribing and patient care. Although clear goals have been defined, how clinics and providers should most effectively implement these changes has been less well defined, and facilities and providers have had substantial flexibility to innovate.

METHODS

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 24 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinicians across the United States who prescribe LTOT for chronic pain. Interviews probed the practices and initiatives providers utilized to meet opioid safety requirements and address common challenges in caring for patients prescribed LTOT.

RESULTS

Innovative strategies in the design and organization of clinical practice (urine drug testing, informed consent, limiting transfer requests, specialty patient panel) and resources utilized (engaged pharmacists, non-opioid pain treatments, intra-organizational collaborations) are described.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude with recommendations designed to improve opioid prescribing practices, both within the VA and in other settings.

An evaluation of the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for opioid use disorder and chronic pain

AIMS

The primary study aim was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for opioid use disorder and chronic pain. The secondary aim was to examine its preliminary efficacy.

METHODS

In a 12-week pilot randomized clinical trial, 40 methadone-maintained patients were assigned to receive weekly manualized CBT (n = 21) or Methadone Drug Counseling (MDC) to approximate usual drug counseling (n = 19).

RESULTS

Twenty of 21 patients assigned to CBT and 18 of 19 assigned to MDC completed the pilot study. Mean (SD) sessions attended were 8.4 (2.9) for CBT (out of 12 possible) and 3.8 (1.1) for MDC (out of 4 possible); mean (SD) patient satisfaction ratings (scored on 1-7 Likert-type scales) were 6.6 (0.5) for CBT and 6.0 (0.4) for MDC (p < .001). The proportion of patients abstinent during the baseline and each successive 4-week interval was higher for patients assigned to CBT than for those assigned to MDC [Wald χ2 (1) = 5.47, p = .02]; time effects (p = .69) and interaction effects between treatment condition and time (p = .10) were not significant. Rates of clinically significant change from baseline to end of treatment on pain interference (42.9% vs. 42.1%, [χ2 (1, N = 40) = 0.002, p = 0.96]) did not differ significantly for patients assigned to CBT or MDC.

CONCLUSIONS

We found support for the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy relative to standard drug counseling in promoting abstinence from nonmedical opioid use among patients with opioid use disorder and chronic pain. Overall, patients exhibited improved pain outcomes, but these improvements did not differ significantly by treatment condition.

Patterns and correlates of medical cannabis use for pain among patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy

OBJECTIVE

Little is known about co-occurring long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) and medical cannabis use. We compared characteristics of patients prescribed LTOT who endorsed using medical cannabis for pain to patients who did not report cannabis use.

METHOD

Participants (n=371) prescribed LTOT completed self-report measures about pain, substance use, and mental health.

RESULTS

Eighteen percent of participants endorsed using medical cannabis for pain. No significant differences were detected on pain-related variables, depression, or anxiety between those who endorsed medical cannabis use and those who did not. Medical cannabis users had higher scores of risk for prescription opioid misuse (median=17.0 vs. 11.5, p<0.001), rates of hazardous alcohol use (25% vs. 16%, p<0.05), and rates of nicotine use (42% vs. 26%, p=0.01). Multivariable analyses indicated that medical cannabis use was significantly associated with risk of prescription opioid misuse (β=0.17, p=0.001), but not hazardous alcohol use (aOR=1.96, 95% CI=0.96-4.00, p=0.06) or nicotine use (aOR=1.61, 95% CI=0.90-2.88, p=0.11).

CONCLUSION

There are potential risks associated with co-occurring LTOT and medical cannabis for pain. Study findings highlight the need for further clinical evaluation in this population. Future research is needed to examine the longitudinal impact of medical cannabis use on pain-related and substance use outcomes.

Substance Use Disorder Treatment Following Clinician-Initiated Discontinuation of Long-Term Opioid Therapy Resulting from an Aberrant Urine Drug Test

BACKGROUND

It is unclear whether substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is offered to, or utilized by, patients who are discontinued from long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) following aberrant urine drug tests (UDTs).

OBJECTIVE

To describe the proportion of patients who were referred to, and engaged in, SUD treatment following LTOT discontinuation and to examine differences in SUD treatment referral and engagement based on the substances that led to discontinuation.

DESIGN

From a sample of 600 patients selected from a national cohort of Veterans Health Administration patients who were discontinued from LTOT, we used manual chart review to identify 169 patients who were discontinued because of a UDT that was positive for alcohol, cannabis, or other illicit or non-prescribed controlled substances.

MAIN MEASURES

We extracted sociodemographic, clinical, and health care utilization data from patients' electronic medical records.

KEY RESULTS

Forty-three percent of patients (n = 73) received an SUD treatment referral following LTOT discontinuation and 20% (n = 34) engaged in a new episode of SUD treatment in the year following discontinuation. Logistic regression models controlling for sociodemographic and clinical variables demonstrated that patients who tested positive for cannabis were less likely than patients who tested positive for non-cannabis substances to receive referrals for SUD treatment (aOR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.23-0.84, p = 0.01) or engage in SUD treatment (aOR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.19-0.94, p = 0.04). Conversely, those who tested positive for cocaine were more likely to receive an SUD treatment referral (aOR = 3.32, 95% CI = 1.57-7.06, p = 0.002) and engage in SUD treatment (aOR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.00-5.96, p = 0.05) compared to those who did not have a cocaine-positive UDT.

CONCLUSIONS

There may be substance-specific differences in clinician referrals to, and patient engagement in, SUD treatment. This suggests a need for more standardized implementation of clinical guidelines that recommend SUD care, when appropriate, following LTOT discontinuation.

Comprehensive treatment for patients with chronic pain in a 12-step based substance use disorder program

Patients with chronic pain (CP) and substance use disorder (SUD) are complex, not yet adequately described, and in need of comprehensive treatments that address both diseases concurrently. Our objectives were to (a) describe a cohort of CP patients who failed traditional treatment (mainly opioids) - then developed opioid use disorder (OUD) and other SUDs and (b) evaluate a comprehensive inpatient treatment program for these patients. Patients were enrolled in an inpatient CP program. Treatment consisted of medical detoxification, group process/education, external and internal qigong, osteopathic manual medicine, and qigong-based mindfulness. Patients also received 20 h per week of 12-step recovery-based SUD treatment. Patients were evaluated at the beginning of treatment (first assessment, day 1-5 range) and at days 30 and 45. Assessments were: Beck Depression Inventory-II, Brief Pain Inventory, West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (patient section), and McGill Pain Questionnaire. The Global Impression of Change Scale was administered at day 45. A mixed model analysis was used to evaluate treatment progress. Demographic data revealed an older cohort with OUD, other SUDs, and multiple pain diagnoses who failed traditional treatment. Questionnaire evaluations were consistent and similar across all of the above measures: patients' scores showed marked, statistically significant improvements in depression, pain, and quality of life ratings. The most substantial improvements occurred between the first and second assessments. The findings are sufficiently encouraging to warrant further evaluation of the protocol and to plan comparative studies.