Thomas R. Kosten, MD, professor of psychiatry, pharmacology, and neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, will coach mental health professionals on treating patients with psychiatric disorders who also suffer from chronic pain due in the presence of substance abuse disorders in the upcoming 2019 Psych Congress.
Both the lifetime prevalence of substance use disorder and the prevalence of chronic pain affect around 20% of the general population.
“The overlap of these two disorders with other major psychiatric disorders such as depression, psychosis (schizophrenia), and post-traumatic stress disorder is substantial,” said Dr. Kosten, MD, in a recent interview Addiction Professional. “Eighty percent of patients with schizophrenia and 35% of patients with major depression smoke. For alcohol and marijuana, the rates are also high, with about 20% to 30% of patients with major psychiatric disorders also having these SUDs.”
Dr. Kosten adds that as a result of these statistics, substance use disorder or chronic pain (and frequently both) will occur in almost half of patients suffering from major psychiatric disorders.
Dr. Kosten’s session, presented on October 3rd, will cover the complications that opioids bring to various brain and body systems when they’re used to reduce chronic pain, as well as alternatives to using opioids for chronic pain—including the potential of cannabinoids and data supporting their limited, specific use. Treatments for opioid use disorder, including medical withdrawal and relapse-prevention therapies, will also be presented.
Presentation:
011 – Innovative Non-opioids for Chronic Pain: Lofexidine, Ketamine, and Cannabidiol
Thursday, October 3
2:30 PM – 3:45 PM
