Lidocaine Infusion for Chronic Pain in Opioid Dependent Patients
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2019-09-20
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Prescription drug abuse represents a major healthcare problem, with treatment costs reaching
billions of dollars annually in the United States alone. Today opioids are commonly
prescribed for chronic non-cancer pain and are only partially effective for short-term pain
relief. Whereas opioids are initially part of the solution for pain, it eventually often
turns to be a problem in patient with chronic pain. Long-term treatment with opioids can be
complicated by development of tolerance, dependency, addiction, abnormal pain sensitivity,
hormonal changes, and immune modulation. Unfortunately, the chronic use of anti-inflammatory
drugs is associated with a marked increase in adverse effects.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether systemic administration of lidocaine
provides effective pain relief in opioid dependent chronic pain patients. Investigators
intend to demonstrate that lidocaine infusion can improve pain relief and physical function
in opioid dependent patients, thus improving compliance and patient satisfaction, which may
potentially help wean patients off narcotics. The long-term goal of this proposal is to
decrease opioid dependence in chronic pain patients by using lidocaine infusion.