Novel Pain Management Protocol Reduces Opioid Use in Hospitalized IBD Patients
The pain experienced by hospitalized patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is routinely treated with opioid medication, but with little success in actually controlling major discomfort. Cedars-Sinai investigators developed a Proactive Analgesic Inpatient Narcotic-Sparing (P.A.I.N.-Sparing) protocol as an alternative to opioids and found it more effective in controlling pain for these patients.
The findings of the single center randomized controlled trial are published in Scientific Reports.
“We found that Cedars-Sinai patients in the P.A.I.N.-Sparing group received significantly less opioids and had greater physical activity during their hospitalization, when compared with IBD patients whose pain was treated with as-needed opioids. Also, those receiving the P.A.I.N. protocol tended to have lower overall pain scores while in the hospital,” said Gil Melmed, MD, principal investigator of the study and director of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Research at Cedars-Sinai.
The P.A.I.N.-Sparing treatment approach developed by investigators was based on a review of the literature on pain management and included scheduled, non-opioid pain medications tailored to the severity of a patient’s reported discomfort. Melmed said that if this approach were not sufficient to control pain, the IBD patients could request opioid pain medications, as needed.
Inflammation, severe diarrhea, malnutrition and acute and chronic pain are leading causes of repeat hospitalizations for IBD patients. Pain is rated by these patients as one of the most burdensome aspects of the disease, yet there is insufficient evidence to support a pain management strategy that is effective.
“Opioid use is more prevalent in IBD than in any other chronic gastrointestinal condition. In spite of the widespread use of these medications, our previous studies have found that opioids do not meaningfully reduce the pain these patients experience. Additionally, there are the known risks associated with using these medications for chronic conditions, including misuse, overdose, infection, hospital readmission and even death,” said Melmed, a professor of Medicine.
Larger, multicenter trials would be useful to further validate the efficacy of the P.A.I.N.-Sparing protocol for IBD patients, Melmed said. He is also encouraged by the emergence of new tools for managing pain.
“There are novel, non-pharmacologic strategies being rigorously studied for their potential to control acute and chronic pain. Biofeedback, virtual reality and other modalities could be incorporated into a proactive approach for addressing the pain and quality of care of our hospitalized IBD patients,” Melmed said.
Additional (current) Cedars-Sinai investigators: Devin Patel, MD; Rajalakshmi Govalan, MD; Shao-Chi Greg Huang; Catherine Bresee; and Teryl K. Nuckols, MD.
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