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The pharmacological relief of pain — contemporary issues
Author(s) -
Mather Laurence E,
Cousins Michael J
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1992.tb121567.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pain relief , pharmacodynamics , pain management , opioid , intensive care medicine , endogenous opioid , data extraction , medline , pharmacokinetics , anesthesia , pharmacology , receptor , political science , law
Objective To provide a general description of the pharmacological principles of pain management particularly the management of severe pain with opioid analgetic agents. Data sources Literature updating previous reviews by the authors in this Journal and the Proceedings of the Vlth World Congress on Pain, Adelaide, 1‐6 April 1990. Study selection Studies were selected under the subheadings: opioid receptors; endogenous opioids; development of new agents; recognition of the need to improve analgesia; pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of opioids; and novel drug delivery methods. Data extraction The extracted information was more descriptive than quantitative. Data synthesis The pharmacological relief of pain involves treatment of patients with drugs characterised by extremely large inter‐patient variability in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics by way of an extremely complex interaction with endogenous control mechanisms. It is not surprising that management of pain in many patients is less than adequate. Conclusions Although much vigorous interdisciplinary research is being undertaken to develop a scientific basis for understanding pain and analgesia, improvements in the clinical management of pain can only occur if practitioners recognise the need for individualised methods of pain relief and treat their patients accordingly.