But how does the risk compare to long-term use of NSAIDs? Has the preference for opioids been mistaken as being safer?
“The problem is that we have started using these drugs and we don’t know if they work,” Dr. Bedson said. “So we are now at the point of identifying more and more risks, but do they do any good? So I think the jury is still out, and I think GPs have very little else to use at the moment because of the worries over anti-inflammatories, but from an anecdotal point of view I think people are beginning to swing back to using them again.”
Dr. Bedson had no conflicts of interest to disclose.