Sensory Effects of Oral Opioid Treatment in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) afflicts up to 50 million U.S. adults and is a primary cause of disability and reduced quality of life. The prescription of opioids for chronic low back pain (CLBP) has increased substantially within the past decade in the U.S. As noted by the CDC in their recent Guideline (released in March 2016): "Opioids are commonly prescribed for pain. An estimated 20% of patients presenting to physician offices with noncancer pain symptoms or pain-related diagnoses (including acute and chronic pain) receive an opioid prescription. Interestingly, patients scoring very high on measures of psychological distress tend to be systematically excluded from RCTs, even though this subgroup of patients is highly prevalent within the chronic pain population.

This study will provide key information on individual differences in the outcomes of opioid treatment, and its findings should facilitate more effective tailoring of analgesic regimens to individual patient characteristic.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Low Back Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Oxycodone or morphine sulfate immediate release (MSIR); Drug: Placebo Treatment

Detailed Description

Changes in pain sensitivity will be examined (i.e., OIH) among subgroups of CLBP patients prescribed oral opioid therapy.

Investigators will conduct a moderate-term, double-blind, randomized controlled trial, and use quantitative sensory testing (QST) to evaluate whether changes in pain sensitivity and pain modulation occur as a result of long-term opioid use. Investigators hypothesize that increases in pain sensitivity (i.e., OIH) and maladaptive changes in endogenous pain modulation (i.e., enhanced temporal summation of pain) will occur as a result of long-term opioid use, but that these changes will be observed predominantly among patients with high levels of negative affect and pain-related catastrophizing.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 35
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02467
      • Brigham and Women's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 25 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. age 25-65
2. CLBP lasting for more than 6 months as the primary complaint
3. typical pain ratings ≥ 4/10 on a visual analogue scale
4. candidate for oral opioid therapy as assessed at the BWH Pain Management Center
5. able to speak and understand English.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. evidence of delirium, dementia, psychosis, or other cognitive impairment preventing completion of study procedures
2. current (i.e., active) substance use disorder (SUD)
3. past history of persistent opioid use (i.e., opioid use for more than 6 months) given that this could affect the biological systems of interest in the present study
4. history of myocardial infarction or other serious cardiovascular condition
5. current peripheral neuropathy
6. current pregnancy, or intention to become pregnant during the study
7. current intrathecal pump.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Oral Opioid Medication; The primary study medication will be oxycodone, with morphine sulfate immediate release (MSIR) as a backup in case of side effects	Drug: Oxycodone or morphine sulfate immediate release (MSIR); Oxycodone or morphine sulfate immediate release (MSIR); Other Names: Oral Opioid Medication
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Treatment; Placebo medications will be encapsulated in an opaque blinding capsule to ensure adequate blinding of study medications	Drug: Placebo Treatment; Lactose (Appearance and Weight-matched placebo capsules)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in Pain Sensitivity (Quantitative Sensory Testing)	Pain Sensitivity will be assessed by Quantitative Sensory testing	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Robert Edwards, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 6, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 30, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 28, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2016
• First Posted (Estimated): July 6, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 4, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 2, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Back Pain; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Low Back Pain; Heterocyclic Compounds; Heterocyclic Compounds, Fused-Ring; Alkaloids; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Compounds; Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings; Morphinans; Opiate Alkaloids; Heterocyclic Compounds, Bridged-Ring; Phenanthrenes; Morphine Derivatives; Codeine; Morphine; Oxycodone
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2016P000725

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No