Factors Associated With the Use of Strong Opioids Among First-Time Patients at a Colombian Pain Clinic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Chronic pain continues to have an important burden on disability-adjusted life years, and its adequate management remains a challenge for medical personnel. Opioids have been used throughout history to treat pain and are considered the most effective pain medications; however, they come with their own undesirable effects, such as addiction, which has created a worldwide opioid crisis. Our aim was to identify factors associated with strong opioid use in patients consulting for the first time at a pain clinic in Bogotá, Colombia. An observational transversal cohort study was conducted to determine the prevalence and associated factors of strong opioid use in non-oncologic patients attending for the first time a pain clinic outpatient consult in Bogotá, Colombia. Two hundred one patient records were included for evaluation, and an 18% prevalence was found. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to find factors associated with strong opioid use. Being male (OR: 1.57) and having psychiatric disease (OR: 1.5) were risk factors for the prescription of strong opioids; however, no statistical significance was found with any of the studied factors. Further studies are needed to completely identify the associated factors of opioid prescription and use in non-oncologic patients before their attendance at a pain clinic, and this finding will be useful to improve pain management education among non-pain specialists.