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A difficult decision for physicians who treat patients with chronic pain not associated with terminal disease is whether and how to prescribe opioid therapy, which can relieve pain and improve mood and level of functioning in many such patients. This review considers current guidelines for opioid therapy in patients with chronic pain unrelated to malignant conditions and outlines caveats, areas of uncertainty, and management strategies.
Ballantyne et al. (Wed,) studied this question.