A 1980 Letter on the Risk of Opioid Addiction N Engl J Med 2017

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9. Here's the actual 1980 letter

Addiction Rare in Patients Treated with Narcotics

N Engl J Med 1980; 302:123 January 10, 1980 DOI: 10.1056/NEJM198001103020221

To the Editor:

Recently, we examined our current files to determine the incidence of narcotic addiction in 39,946 hospitalized medical patients[1] who were monitored consecutively. Although there were 11,882 patients who received at least one narcotic preparation, there were only four cases of reasonably well documented addiction in patients who had no history of addiction. The addiction was considered major in only one instance. The drugs implicated were meperidine in two patients,[2] Percodan in one, and hydromorphone in one. We conclude that despite widespread use of narcotic drugs in hospitals, the development of addiction is rare in medical patients with no history of addiction.

Jane Porter
Hershel Jick, M.D.
Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program Boston University Medical Center, Waltham, MA 02154