Strategies for Prescribing Analgesics Comparative Effectiveness Trial

Brief summary (from the registry)

Chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions are among the most prevalent conditions in VA primary care. Over the past two decades, improved clinical attention to pain has been associated with exponentially greater use of long-term opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain, both within and outside the VA system. Despite this change in practice, the proper place of opioids in chronic pain management continues to be controversial because research has not demonstrated the long-term safety and effectiveness of opioids for chronic musculoskeletal pain. The Strategies for Prescribing Analgesics Comparative Effectiveness (SPACE) Trial will fill a critical gap in the evidence by comparing effectiveness and harms of two clinically relevant analgesic prescribing strategies-one that emphasizes early use of strong opioids and one that delays and minimizes opioid use-for Veterans with chronic back, hip, or knee pain. SPACE is designed to be highly relevant to clinical decision-making in VA primary care and to produce knowledge that will improve the lives of Veterans living with chronic pain.

Study details

Official title

Strategies for Prescribing Analgesics Comparative Effectiveness (SPACE) Trial

Conditions

• Back Pain
• Osteoarthritis

Interventions

• Other: Opioid-intensive prescribing strategy
• Other: Opioid-avoidant prescribing strategy

Sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development

Start date

2013-06-01

Primary completion

2017-01-31

Sex

All

Age range

from 18 Years

Results posted

Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov

Countries

United States

Total sites listed

1

Eligibility criteria