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Pain management

Opioids for RA: a clinical dilemma

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 13, pages 521–522 (2017)Cite this article

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Opioids provide some modest pain relief for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but prescription of these drugs is influenced by their association with risks for the individual and for society. Is denial of a treatment, even if that treatment is imperfect, justified when patients experience considerable pain and other treatment options are limited?

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Winfried Häuser is at the Department of Internal Medicine I, Klinikum Saarbrücken, Winterberg 1, 66119 Saarbrücken, Germany.,

    Winfried Häuser

  2. Division of Rheumatology and the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit, McGill University Health Centre, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, H3G 1A4, Quebec, Canada

    Mary-Ann Fitzcharles

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  1. Winfried Häuser
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  2. Mary-Ann Fitzcharles
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Correspondence to Mary-Ann Fitzcharles.

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Häuser, W., Fitzcharles, MA. Opioids for RA: a clinical dilemma. Nat Rev Rheumatol 13, 521–522 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2017.123

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