A new pain medication has debuted and has set off major controversy. The new medication is called Zohydro, and it is a long-acting form of hydrocodone.  This is the same medication as Vicodin or Norco, without the acetaminophen. Vicodin and Norco are the most abused short acting opioid/narcotic medication. Despite knowing this, the FDA recently reversed its stance and approved the high potency long-acting drug. Zohyrdro will certainly help some people who deal with chronic pain, but it will also undoubtedly be abused by others. This begs the question, will Zohydro cause more harm than good?

The answer to question is up in the air, but it certainly looks like it will cause significant harm. It will cause problems, especially since some physicians will ignore the risks and prescribe the drug because it will do a great job relieving pain. This new drug can be easily abused, and has no abuse-deterrent properties. Many potent opioids have abuse-deterrent properties like smaller doses and pills that are designed so the user can’t alter the contents to snort or inject the substance, but Zohydro has no such properties. It will be abused.

Physician Care

Pain physicians, at their annual meeting last week, came to the understanding that opioids are important, but the most potent medications need to be abuse-deterrent. Opioids have a tendency to be abused, and therefore pain physicians have an obligation to help reduce abuse. This new medication adds very little to our treatment regimen, but it opens up more opportunities for abuse.

There are many abuse-deterrent formulations that can be used to treat pain. As far as pain physicians are concerned, there are just to many medications available that are being abused. In reality, it is unlikely we really need this medication.

Pain physicians would like to see more pain medications designed with abuse-deterrent properties. These are medications that have properties which do not stimulate a “high”. These tend to be slower acting, or have specific properties that do not stimulate the brain areas that give a rush. The future in pain care is developing more medications that treat pain but do not lead to abuse. Opioid/narcotic abuse is rampant in the United States, and physicians can play a key role in reducing this problem. Aggressively prescribing Zohydro is not one of those ways.