Ch. 10: Analgesic Drugs

Question 1

Analgesics

Answer 1

medications that relieve pain without causing loss of consciousness

Question 2

Opioid Analgesics

Answer 2

used to treat moderate to severe pain

Question 3

Pain

Answer 3

unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage

Question 4

Nociceptors

Answer 4

receptors that transmit pain signals from various body regions to the spinal cord and brain

Question 5

Nociception

Answer 5

sensation of pain

Question 6

Pain threshold

Answer 6

the level of stimulus needed to produce painful sensations; is a physiologic element

Question 7

Pain tolerance

Answer 7

the amount of pain a patient can endure without interference of normal function; is a psychologic element

Question 8

Acute pain

Answer 8

sudden onset; usually sharp and localized; physiologic response is tachycardia, sweating, pallor, and increased BP; has a limited duration; (EX. myocardial infarction, appendicitis, dental procedures, kidney stones, surgical procedures)

Question 9

Chronic pain

Answer 9

slow onset; usually dull, persistent aching; persistent or recurring duration; (EX. arthritis, cancer, lower back pain, peripheral neuropathy)

Question 10

Somatic pain

Answer 10

originates from skeletal muscles, ligaments, and joints

Question 11

Visceral pain

Answer 11

originates from organs and smooth muscles

Question 12

Superficial pain

Answer 12

originates from skin and mucous membranes

Question 13

Deep pain

Answer 13

occurs in tissues below skin level

Question 14

Vascular pain

Answer 14

originates from vascular or perivascular tissues; is thought to account for large percentage of migraines

Question 15

Referred pain

Answer 15

occurs when visceral nerve fibers synapse at a level in the spinal cord close to fibers that supply specific subcutaneous tissues (EX. pain associated with cholecystitis which is often referred to back and scapula)

Question 16

Phantom pain

Answer 16

occurs in area of a body part that has been removed either surgically or traumatically; described as itching, burning, tingling, or stabbing; also can occur in paralyzed limbs after spinal cord surgery

Question 17

Cancer pain

Answer 17

can be acute or chronic, or both; often results from pressure of the tumor against nerves, organs, or tissues; other causes of cancer pain include hypoxia from blockage of blood supply to an organ, metastases, pathologic fractures, muscle spasms, and adverse effects of radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy

Question 18

Central pain

Answer 18

occurs with tumors, trauma, inflammation, or diseases such as diabetes, stroke, multiple sclerosis which all affect CNS tissue

Question 19

Gate theory

Answer 19

uses the analogy of a gate to describe how impulses from damaged tissue are sensed in the brain; closing of gate is affected by A fibers and opening of the gate is affected by C fibers

Question 20

Endogenous neurotransmitters (endorphins and enkephalins)

Answer 20

produced to fight pain and are considered the body’s painkillers; both are capable of bonding w/opioid receptors and inhibiting transmission of pain impulses by closing the spinal cord gates; are released whenever the body experiences prolonged exertion or pain

Question 21

Breakthrough pain

Answer 21

occurs in between doses of pain medications

Question 22

Synergistic effects

Answer 22

drugs with difference mechanisms of action are added to the opioid regimen to produce desired effects

Question 23

analgesic ceiling effect

Answer 23

a drug reaches a maximum analgesic effect; analgesia does not improve even with higher doses; useful in only patients that have not been previously exposes to opioids