Cross Validation of the Current Opioid Misuse Measure to Monitor Chronic Pain Patients on Opioid Therapy

Objectives—The Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) is a self-report measure of risk for aberrant medication related behavior among persons with chronic pain who are prescribed opioids for pain. It was developed to complement predictive screeners of opioid misuse potential and improve a clinician's ability to periodically assess a patient's risk for opioid misuse. The aim of this study was to cross validate the COMM with a new sample of chronic noncancer pain patients. Methods—Two hundred and twenty six (N=226) participants prescribed opioids for pain were recruited from five pain management centers in the US. Subjects completed the 17-item COMM and a series of self-report measures. Patients were rated by their treating physician, had a urine toxicology screen, and were classified on the Aberrant Drug Behavior index. Results—The reliability and predictive validity in this cross validation as measured by the area under the curve (AUC) were found to be highly significant (AUC =.79) and not significantly different from the AUC obtained in the original validation study (AUC =.81). Reliability (coefficient α) was . 83, which is comparable to the .86 obtained in the original sample. Discussion—Results of the cross validation suggest that the psychometric parameters of the COMM are not based solely on unique characteristics of the initial validation sample. The COMM appears to be a reliable and valid screening tool to help detect current aberrant drug-related behavior among chronic pain patients.