Scientists probe ways to curb opioid abuse without hindering pain treatment.

摘要

Greater recognition of the importance of pain management has led to skyrocketing numbers of prescriptions for opioid analgesics. At the same time, abuse of these drugs has increased (Kuehn BM. JAMA. 2007;297: 249-251). This pair of trends has left many physicians considering the best ways to ensure that patients get needed pain relief while preventing abuse of pain medications.