The DIRE score: predicting outcomes of opioid prescribing for chronic pain.

Unlabelled: The objective of this retrospective study was to test the validity and reliability of a scoring tool (the DIRE Score), for use by clinicians, that predicts which chronic noncancer pain patients will have effective analgesia and be compliant with long-term opioid maintenance treatment. DIRE scores were assigned to 61 cases from the pain center's databases. These cases were abstracted into vignettes that were reviewed and scored by 6 physicians.