Long-term Opioid Therapy, Misuse and Mortality in Patients With Chronic Non-cancer Pain in Germany

Among patients receiving opioids for noncancer pain, recent research in North America showed a strong association between doses and opioid-related mortality, especially at dosages exceeding thresholds recommended in recent guidelines. However, the focus on over-dosage may underestimate overall opioid-related mortality and data on death associated with opioid use in a population-based cohort of chronic noncancer pain patients in Europe is scarce. Especially comparative studies studying the safety of long-term opioid therapy in a real-world setting relative to non-opioid medication for chronic noncancer pain are needed in a European context.