Prevalence adn patterns of prescription opioid misuse in patients with non-cancer chronic pain in Valencia and the metropolitan area: a pilot study

abstract

This study examines the prevalence and patterns of prescription opioid abuse among patients with non-cancer chronic pain in Valencia and its metropolitan area. Using clinical records from Addiction Units and hospital services, a prevalence of 0,004% was identified, markedly lower than international estimates. The clinical profile revealed a predominance of middle-aged women, a high frequency of psychiatric comorbidity, and frequent musculoskeletal disorders as initial indications for opioid prescription. Fentanyl was the opioid most commonly involved in abuse, mainly administered transdermally, while tapentadol showed the longest latency to abuse onset. A substantial proportion of patients received concurrent prescriptions for additional opioids, and recreational substance use was present in part of the sample. These findings highlight the need to strengthen prescription monitoring, promote multimodal non-opioid therapeutic approaches, and improve early detection in patients with vulnerability factors.

Keywords:

opioids, chronic non-cancer pain, prescription drug abuse, psychiatric comorbidity, fentanyl, tramadol.

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Authors

María Isabel Ramón Olmo - Departamento de Psicobiología, Universidad de Valencia
Benjamín Climent Díaz - Servicio de Medicina Interna, Unidad de Toxicología, Consorcio Hospital General Universitario de Valencia
Consuelo Pedrós Cholvi - Unidad de Farmacología Clínica, Consorci Hospital General de València
Álvaro Arrivas García - Unidad de Conductas Adictivas Catarroja, Valencia
Francisco Carrión Talavera - Unidad de Conductas Adictivas Torrent, Valencia
Pablo Tudela Torras - Unidad de Conductas Adictivas Torrent, Valencia.
Raúl Espert Tortajada - Departamento de Psicobiología, Universidad de Valencia.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54108/10129