Christoph Lassen

Home Institution
Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel

Host Institution
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Pain Research Center
Research Mentors: C. Richard Chapman, Ph.D., Akiko Okifuji, Ph.D.
Clinical Rotation: Pediatric Anesthesiology and Pain Management at the Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children, Salt Lake City

E-Mail: c.lassen@freenet.de

Research Topic
see Abstract
Personal Reactions to the U.S. Experience
This has not been the first time that I have been to the U.S., so the experience was not totally new for me. Except for some minor differences, life in the U.S. is pretty similar to life in Europe. Okay, everybody takes the car to work even if they live half a mile away, people don't scratch the ice off their car windows, but rather leave their engines running for 15 minutes in the morning, so that the heater can take care of the frozen windshield, and it is considered to be rude not to stop for a chat with the cashier at the grocery store, to talk about the lack of snow during December, but other than that you can behave like a European and get away with it most of the time. Well, you don't want to blow your nose in public, and if you have to say certain four-letter words, use the German terms, but you have to be careful with that, too, especially in Utah. Half the population has been on a mission to a foreign country for two years to give testimony of the Book of Mormon, so a lot of people have been to Germany and will actually understand what you say.
Greatest Difficulties Encountered
Getting to work by bike. Do not expect an American car driver to yield when he is making a right turn while you want to go straight. After all, he had a green light!
Most humorous incident
To hear President Bush say, "This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating." He is right, at least once.
Helpful Hints for Future Students
- If you do any kind of winter sport, come to Salt Lake City. There are seven ski resorts within a radius of 25 miles. And as the Utah license plate reads: We have "The Greatest Snow on Earth"
- Do not get a room in advance!! It is better to stay in a hostel for the first week and look at a couple of rooms.
- Try to move into a place with roommates, the more the better. It is the easiest way to get to know people.
- If possible, try to be in the U.S. at the end of August. The later you arrive, the harder it will be to find a room, a car, friends.
- Travel a lot.
- Ask for days off! Do not spend every day in the lab or in the office. It will not be problem, as long as your work gets done.
- Contact a BMEP student for further questions.

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Abstract on Research Topic
Assessment of opioid drug abuse in a non-cancer chronic pain population

Authors
Akiko Okifuji Ph.D., Michael Ashburn M.D. M.P.H., Christoph Lassen
Institution
Pain Research Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
Purpose
To determine the number of non-cancer chronic pain patients who show drug abusive behavior
Overview
Today many chronic non-cancer pain patients receive opioid medications as part of their therapy. There has always been the fear of problems along with this therapy, including the fear of inducing addiction in the patients. Many studies have been performed in order to assess the prevalence of addiction and drug abuse in these patients and to find risk factors for it. The prevalence of addiction and drug abuse ranges from 3.2-31% in different studies. Contributing to this rather wide range has been a somewhat unclear definition of addiction, drug abuse and drug dependence. These terms have been used interchangeably by the different researchers, although they do mean something different. This situation has been clarified by a panel of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society and the American Society of Addiction Medicine, which has introduced a definition for these terms, specifically for the chronic pain patient. The definition given for addiction is: [Addiction] is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving. Furthermore, addiction can only be understood as a pattern of behavior, rather than a single incident.
The primary aim of this study is to conduct a retrospective chart review in order to evaluate the prevalence of addictive behavior in chronic non-cancer pain patients in the tertially multidisciplinary pain center based upon the four criteria, given by the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Methods
The charts will be analyzed for demographical data such as ethnical origin, age, gender, marital status, etc. Data containing medical information, e.g. weight, height, blood pressure, diagnosed diseases, prescribed medications, etc. will be collected as well as any information that gives an indication of the way the patients are handling their opioid medications, such as requiring higher doses of opioid medications or self-increasing dosage.
Results
Final results are not available yet, but there are certain factors that seem to play a role in drug-abusive behavior, such as gender, age and history of drug abuse. More data needs to be collected to correctly assess the number of patients who have severe problems with their opioid medications, as well as to identify further factors.