Observational studyPain2016
Trends in long-term opioid prescribing in primary care patients with musculoskeletal conditions: an observational database study.
Observational study in Pain, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
45 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Trial
- Opioid prescribing for chronic musculoskeletal pain in UK primary care: results from a cohort analysis of the COPERS trial.BMJ open · 2018Trial
- Examining variations in the prevalence of hazardous opioid prescribing across general practices in England: a cross-sectional study.BMJ quality & safety · 2026Article
- Lubricin protects against cartilage degeneration following anterior cruciate ligament transection in rats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The accuracy and reliability of patient-reported opioid consumption following surgical fracture management.Pain reports · 2026Article
- The impact of opioid prescribing guidelines on opioid dispensation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2026Review
- Trends of opioids consumption for cancer patients treated by the palliative care department at the last week of life in a tertiary care center.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- Proactive clinical review of patients taking opioid medicines long term for persistent pain led by clinical pharmacists in primary care teams (PROMPPT): a non-randomised mixed methods feasibility study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2025Article
- Patterns of analgesic utilisation among people with knee osteoarthritis: a cohort study using UK primary care data.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2025Article
- Article
- The prescribing of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain in the menopausal and postmenopausal population: a drug utilisation study in the UK.BJGP open · 2025Article
- Designing a primary care pharmacist-led review for people treated with opioids for persistent pain: a multi-method qualitative study.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Analgesic prescribing in patients with inflammatory arthritis in England: observational studies in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2024Observational
- Understanding general practitioners' prescribing choices to patients with chronic low back pain: a discrete choice experiment.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2024Article
- Use and misuse of psychoactive medicines: a descriptive cross-sectional study in a densely populated region of Portugal.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2024Article
- Trends in consultations and prescribing for rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: an electronic primary care records study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2023Observational
- Trends in gabapentinoid prescribing in UK primary care using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink: an observational study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2023Article
- Opioid prescribing and social deprivation: A retrospective analysis of prescribing for CNCP in Liverpool CCG.PloS one · 2023Observational
- Long-term, high-dose opioid prescription for chronic non-cancer pain in primary care: an observational study.BJGP open · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Long-term opioids may benefit patients with chronic pain but have also been linked to harmful outcomes. In the United Kingdom, the predominant source of opioids is primary care prescription. The objective was to examine changes in the incidence, length, and opioid potency of long-term prescribing episodes for musculoskeletal conditions in UK primary care (2002-2013). This was an observational database study (Clinical Practice Research Datalink, 190 practices). Participants (≥18 years) were prescribed an opioid for a musculoskeletal condition (no opioid prescribed in previous 6 months), and issued ≥2 opioid prescriptions within 90 days (long-term episode). Opioids were divided into short- and long-acting noncontrolled and controlled drugs. Annual incidence of long-term opioid episodes was determined, and for those still in a long-term episode, the percentage of patients prescribed each type 1 to 2 years, and >2 years after initiation. Annual denominator population varied from 1.25 to 1.38 m. A total of 76,416 patients started 1 long-term episode. Annual long-term episode incidence increased (2002-2009) by 38% (42.4-58.3 per 10,000 person-years), remaining stable to 2011, then decreasing slightly to 55.8/10,000 (2013). Patients prescribed long-acting controlled opioids within the first 90 days of long-term use increased from 2002 to 2013 (2.3%-9.9%). In those still in a long-term opioid episode (>2 years), long-acting controlled opioid prescribing increased from 3.5% to 22.6%. This study has uniquely shown an increase in prescribing long-term opioids to 2009, gradually decreasing from 2011 in the United Kingdom. The trend was towards increased prescribing of controlled long-acting opioids and earlier use. Further research into the risks and benefits of opioids is required.
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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.