The largest review ever conducted on opioid pain medications has found that these commonly prescribed drugs often offer only limited, short term relief for acute pain, and in some cases provide no meaningful benefit at all.
Researchers from the University of Sydney led the investigation, which examined the effectiveness and safety of opioid medications such as codeine, morphine, oxycodone, and tramadol. The analysis brought together evidence from 59 systematic reviews covering more than 50 acute pain conditions affecting both children and adults.
Published in the journal Drugs, the review offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of where opioids help, where they do not, and where evidence remains limited.
"Opioids are among the most commonly prescribed treatments for acute pain, however, our review found that they did not provide large or lasting pain relief compared with placebo for the vast majority of acute pain conditions, with pain relief typically lasting only a few hours," said lead author Associate Professor Christina Abdel Shaheed, from the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney.
"Overall, oral opioids were only slightly better than placebo for acute musculoskeletal pain, which they are often prescribed for, in the six to 48 hours after starting treatment. Opioids also increased the risk of side effects when used for acute musculoskeletal pain, some types of post-surgical pain or traumatic limb pain.
