Patients with chronic pain and abnormal pituitary function require investigation

Misuse of opioids is associated with abnormalities of pituitary function. Patients with chronic pain frequently complain of fatigue and undergo endocrine testing. To test whether oral opioid treatment causes abnormal pituitary function we prospectively assessed pituitary function in 37 patients with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lancet (British edition) 2003-06, Vol.361 (9376), p.2203-2204
Main Authors: Merza, Z, Edwards, N, Walters, SJ, Newell-Price, J, Ross, RJM
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analgesics
Analgesics, Opioid - adverse effects
Back Pain - drug therapy
Back Pain - physiopathology
Biological and medical sciences
Chronic Disease
Endocrine system
Endocrinopathies
Fatigue
Female
Humans
Hypothalamus. Hypophysis. Epiphysis (diseases)
Male
Medical diagnosis
Medical disorders
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Non tumoral diseases. Target tissue resistance. Benign neoplasms
Obesity
Pain management
Pituitary Function Tests
Pituitary gland
Pituitary Gland, Anterior - drug effects
Pituitary Gland, Anterior - physiopathology
Prospective Studies
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Description
Summary:Misuse of opioids is associated with abnormalities of pituitary function. Patients with chronic pain frequently complain of fatigue and undergo endocrine testing. To test whether oral opioid treatment causes abnormal pituitary function we prospectively assessed pituitary function in 37 patients with chronic pain who were receiving either oral opioid analgesia or non-opioid analgesia. Oral opioid treatment was not associated with abnormal pituitary function although a few patients had abnormal results mainly related to obesity. Our results suggest that patients with chronic pain who have abnormal endocrine results should have a complete assessment, since abnormal test results cannot be attributed to their analgesia.
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13775-0