Prescription Pain Medication Abuse On Surprising Increase, With Unexpected Geogr

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Prescription Pain Medication Abuse On Surprising Increase, With

Unexpected Geographic Distribution

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061017084504.htm

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center found prescription

pain medication (PPM) abuse is a rapidly growing problem with

surprising and often unpredictable distribution patterns. The

research was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society

for Anesthesiologists in Chicago, October 13, 2006.

Moric, PhD, a researcher in the department of Anesthesiology

at Rush, and colleagues used survey data from the National Survey on

Drug Use and Health for 2002-04 to estimate the prevalence of drug

abuse across the United States for various illicit and prescription

substances.

Moric found that PPM abuse did not follow traditional

patterns. " Individual states with high levels of PPM abuse may not

recognize the problem. The prevailing assumption that only those

states with high levels of traditional illicit drug abuse should be

vigilant is clearly misleading. "

The researchers found distribution of PPM abuse across the United

States varied greatly and differed from other seemingly similar drug

abuse trends. PPM distribution differed substantially from

inhalants, heroin and sedatives, was somewhat similar to cocaine and

stimulants and was closely related to distribution of tranquilizers.

Furthermore, the researchers found that states with large

metropolitan areas (New York, Illinois, Texas and California) did

not have a high distribution of abuse, despite the common view that

drug abuse is associated with the fast-paced lifestyle of city

dwellers.

" Distribution of PPM abuse across the states differs from high-

profile street drugs and even particular PPMs such as oxycodone,

which has its own specific pattern, " Moric said. " It is for this

reason that PPM abuse must be monitored separately from other

illicit substances, and the most commonly abused or most problematic

PPMs should be monitored individually. "

Oxycodone, in particular, was singled out by Moric's group because

of its highly addictive nature and specific distribution pattern,

which differed from many other PPMs and illicit drugs. Similar to

heroin in both its effect on the body and addictive nature,

oxycodone is often crushed or mixed with other drugs and used for

its heroin-like " rush. " Moric warned that the key to understanding

and identifying abuse requires a more sophisticated understanding

than that abusers simply want to " feel good. "

" As users become addicts, they undergo a fundamental neurobiological

change, " Moric said. " Processes such as learning, memory,

perception, arousal and motivation all drastically change, and to

classify abuse purely as `pleasure seeking' is a gross

oversimplification. "

The surprising results from the study should offer something of a

wake-up call to physicians and other health care workers everywhere

in the country. " Clinicians need to be aware of the level of abuse

in their area and moderate their vigilance accordingly, " Moric said.

If PPM abuse is identified in a particular area, a multifaceted

response should be implemented, he said. " Drug abuse prevention,

outreach and information dissemination programs by federal, state

and nonprofit agencies should be notified so that public awareness

can be heightened and action be taken to reduce the problem. "

According to Moric, anesthesiologists who practice pain medicine

play a particularly crucial role in combating PPM abuse. " We feel

that the most important function of anesthesiologists with respect

to PPM abuse is in education. Anesthesiologists are the most

relevant spokespersons for both the benefits of PPMs and the

potential abuses, " Moric said.