Conditioning open-label placebo: a pilot pharmacobehavioral approach for opioid dose reduction and pain control

This study explores a new way to help patients in rehabilitation manage pain and reduce their need for opioid medications. It uses something called 'conditioning open-label placebo' (COLP), which combines classical conditioning with an honest presentation of placebo treatments. The idea is that by pairing a reduced opioid dose with a placebo (a sugar pill) and a unique smell, patients may learn to associate the placebo and smell with pain relief. Over time, this could allow them to reduce their opioid use while still managing their pain effectively. The study found that patients who received COLP significantly reduced their opioid consumption compared to those who received standard treatment, and they still reported similar levels of pain relief. This suggests that COLP could be a promising approach for reducing opioid use in rehabilitation settings.

• 1
  Conditioning open-label placebo significantly reduced total opioid consumption by the end of the intervention period.
• 2
  Pain reduction was also significant for the COLP group, whereas the treatment-as-usual group demonstrated a trend towards pain reduction.
• 3
  The decrease in MEDC scores went well below this threshold by 66%, and this reduction was significant after adjusting for baseline differences.