NEW YORK – Among chronic pain patients who have been prescribed opioid drugs such as OxyContin or Percocet by primary care physicians, nearly 4 percent abuse these drugs, according to the results of a large study conducted in Wisconsin.
The findings also suggest that these patients commonly exhibit â??aberrant drug behavior,â? such as requesting early refills or purposely oversedating themselves.
Dr. Michael F. Fleming, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and his associates point out that a large number of patients have severe, incapacitating pain that cannot be controlled without daily opioid therapy. The researchers investigated substance abuse disorders in this patient population.