This pooled analysis was designed to determine whether the
analgesic response to treatment with OROS
hydromorphone, as measured by the "
pain on average" scale of the Brief
Pain Inventory (BPI), was different in patients with
neuropathic pain compared to those with
nociceptive pain, after adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics. Three open-label studies on patients with neuropathic and nociceptive malignant and nonmalignant
chronic pain were analyzed. A mixed model for repeated measures linear regression analysis was used to compare the effect of OROS
hydromorphone on patients with neuropathic and
nociceptive pain, adjusting for potentially confounding factors. Data from patients with pure
neuropathic pain and mixed
pain were also compared. Safety and tolerability was assessed by recording the number of adverse events. The primary outcome was "
pain on average" (BPI item 5) over time. Secondary outcomes were the effect of OROS
hydromorphone on other BPI items including "
pain relief" and "interference with sleep." Patients with
neuropathic pain showed a similar response to treatment with OROS
hydromorphone to those patients with
nociceptive pain. There was no statistically significant difference between the
pain groups (difference between groups -0.552 at visit 7; P = .060 for overall difference between groups). For some outcome variables, treatment was more effective for patients with
neuropathic pain. The treatment was generally well tolerated. This pooled analysis shows that treatment with OROS
hydromorphone had similar efficacy for neuropathic and
nociceptive pain.