Analgesics part 1

Question 1

What are analgesics?

Answer 1

They are medications that are used to relieve pain without altering level of conciousness

Question 2

What is pain

Answer 2

This is an unpleasant sensory perception accompanied with tissue damage

Question 3

What is nociception?

Answer 3

This is pain that is associated with nociceptors being stimulated. They send pain signals to the brain

Question 4

What is pain threshold?

Answer 4

This is the level of stimulus needed to trigger nociceptors to send a pain signal to the spinal cord

Question 5

What is pain tolerance?

Answer 5

This is the amount of pain someone can experience without it getting in the way of normal activities.

Question 6

What is the difference between acute and persistent (chronic) pain?

Answer 6

Acute pain happens suddenly and has an end to it chronic pain is recurring pain that last 3 to 6 months and is hard to treat

Question 7

What are the 6 types of pain?

Answer 7

Refered, nueropathic, phantom, cancer, central, vascular

Question 8

What is the gate theory of pain transmission?

Answer 8

This is a pain theory that states that pain gets through theoretical gates and this is what most pain treatment is at addressing

Question 9

What are the 4 processes of of pain?

Answer 9

Transduction, transmission, perception, modulation

Question 10

What is pain transduction and where is the spinal cord entry for the pain?

Answer 10

Tissue injury causes the release of chemicals that stimulate nerves to send signals to dorsal horn entry on spinal cord, which controls the signal strength sent to the brain

Question 11

What is pain transmission?

Answer 11

This is when pain is transmitted to the brain through a delta fibres and c fibres

Question 12

What is pain perception?

Answer 12

This is the subjective feeling the person understands of the pain stimulus

Question 13

What is pain modulation?

Answer 13

This is when analgesia for the pain is produced by the brain sending signals and sends message to effectors to take action concerning pain

Question 14

What are adjuvant drugs?

Answer 14

Non-opioid drugs that help primary drugs relieve pain

Question 15

What are two examples of adjuvant drugs, and what category of drugs are they?

Answer 15

Amitriptyline (antidepressant), and gabapentin(anticonvulsant).

Question 16

Explain the WHO three step analgesic ladder

Answer 16

Step 1 is nonopioids with or without adjuvants. If pain increases then step 2 which is opioids with or without nonopioids. If pain increases step 3 is opioids for severe pain with nonopioids and adjuvants

Question 17

What are opioid drugs?

Answer 17

These are drugs that bind onto opiate receptors to relieve pain

Question 18

WHat is the opioid ceiling effect?

Answer 18

This is when a drug reaches its maximum analgesic effect so a higher dose doesn’t relive pain anymore

Question 19

What is the MOA of agonist opioid drugs?

Answer 19

They bind to opioid pain receptor to cause analgesia

Question 20

What is the MOA of an agonist-antagonist opioid or partial agonist?

Answer 20

It binds to pain receptors and causes a weaker pain response than full agonist

Question 21

WHat is the MOA of antagonist opioids?

Answer 21

They reverse the effects of agonist and partial agonist opioids by binding onto opiate receptros

Question 22

What is equianalgesia?

Answer 22

Providing the equivalent pain relief of a drug by calculating dosages of a different drug and route of administration

Question 23

When do we use opioids?

Answer 23

To alleviate pain, cough suppression and and diarrhea

Question 24

What are the significant adverse effects of opioid analgesics?

Answer 24

CNS depression, pinpoint pupils