Opioids
6%
Improve with treatment
40%
Improve with control
54%
Do not Improve
What does improve mean?
An example of a 30% reduction in pain scores is a decrease from 6 to 4 on a 10 point pain scale
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
How many people will improve?
46%
Improvement by treatment or placebo
54%
No Improvement
Opioids Harms
Withdrawals due to Adverse Events (Any Opioid)
Nausea
Constipation
Dizziness
Drowsiness
Headache
Other Considerations
- Last option due to risk of dependence, side-effects, and long-term serious harms
- If absolutely needed, doses should be kept ≤ 90 mg/day of morphine equivalents
- Should be used short-term
- Side effects are more common in older patients and may lead to falls
- Approximate cost (CAD) depends on opioid used, 30-day supply: $20+
Looking for further details?
Osteoarthritis Pain
Why doesn’t this calculator cover all treatment options available?
This online calculator does not cover all treatment options available for osteoarthritis pain. We only included the medication treatments that had the highest quality evidence. A healthcare provider may consider other options not listed in this calculator to manage symptoms, depending on specific needs.
Where can I find the evidence used to create this calculator?
The data used for this calculator can be found within the Osteoarthritis Umbrella Systematic Review
Additional tools created with this data can be found at Osteoarthritis Decision Aid
