Trial reportPain2013
Opioid use among low back pain patients in primary care: Is opioid prescription associated with disability at 6-month follow-up?
Trial report in Pain, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 105 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic Review of Outcome Measures in Pharmacologically Managed Chronic Pain: Informing a New Outcome Framework for Healthcare Provider-Led Pharmacotherapy Services.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2025Pooled it
- The Association between Early Opioids Prescribing and the Length of Disability in Acute Lower Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Individual recovery expectations and prognosis of outcomes in non-specific low back pain: prognostic factor review.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- PURLs: More isn't better with acute low back pain treatment.The Journal of family practice · 2016Guideline
- Trial
- Opioid prescribing for chronic musculoskeletal pain in UK primary care: results from a cohort analysis of the COPERS trial.BMJ open · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Impact of Prescription Medicines on Work-Related Outcomes in Workers with Musculoskeletal Disorders or Injuries: A Systematic Scoping Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Comparative Review of the Socioeconomic Burden of Lower Back Pain in the United States and Globally.Neurospine · 2024Article
- Up-and-coming Radiotracers for Imaging Pain Generators.Seminars in musculoskeletal radiology · 2023Article
- A Practical Guide to Sigma-1 Receptor Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A New Clinical Molecular Imaging Method to Identify Peripheral Pain Generators in Patients with Chronic Pain.Seminars in musculoskeletal radiology · 2023Article
- Mortality among older adults with osteoporotic vertebral fracture.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2023Article
- Referrals, Symptoms and Treatment of Patients Referred to a Secondary Spine Centre-How Can We Help?Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Emergency Department Alternatives to Opioids: Adapting and Implementing Proven Therapies in Practice.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Influence of Initial Health Care Provider on Subsequent Health Care Utilization for Patients With a New Onset of Low Back Pain: A Scoping Review.Physical therapy · 2022Article
- Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) Inhibitors and Related Agents for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Comprehensive Review.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2021Review
- Trends and risk factors for opioid administration for non-emergent lower back pain.World journal of orthopedics · 2021Article
- Psychosocial, Functional, and Emotional Correlates of Long-Term Opioid Use in Patients with Chronic Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study.Pain and therapy · 2021Article
- Long-term improvements following a residential combined physical and psychological programme for chronic low back pain.BMJ open quality · 2021Article
- Prescribing Patterns of Pain Medications in Unspecific Low Back Pain in Primary Care: A Retrospective Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Opioid prescribing for chronic noncancer pain is increasing, but there is limited knowledge about longer-term outcomes of people receiving opioids for conditions such as back pain. This study aimed to explore the relationship between prescribed opioids and disability among patients consulting in primary care with back pain. A total of 715 participants from a prospective cohort study, who gave consent for review of medical and prescribing records and completed baseline and 6month follow-up questionnaires, were included. Opioid prescription data were obtained from electronic prescribing records, and morphine equivalent doses were calculated. The primary outcome was disability (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire [RMDQ]) at 6months. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine the association between opioid prescription at baseline and RMDQ score at 6months. Analyses were adjusted for potential confounders using propensity scores reflecting the probability of opioid prescription given baseline characteristics. In the baseline period, 234 participants (32.7%) were prescribed opioids. In the final multivariable analysis, opioid prescription at baseline was significantly associated with higher disability at 6-month follow-up (P<.022), but the magnitude of this effect was small, with a mean RMDQ score of 1.18 (95% confidence interval: 0.17 to 2.19) points higher among those prescribed opioids compared to those who were not. Our findings indicate that even after adjusting for a substantial number of potential confounders, opioids were associated with slightly worse functioning in back pain patients at 6-month follow-up. Further research may help us to understand the mechanisms underlying these findings and inform clinical decisions regarding the usefulness of opioids for back pain.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.