Chapter 11 Analgesics

Question 1

What are analgesics?

Answer 1

Medications that relieve pain without causing lack of consciousness. Include opioids, non-opioids (which include NSAIDs).

Question 2

Opioids

Answer 2

• Pain relievers that contain opium or or synthetically derived opium. Used mainly to relieve moderate to severe pain. Opioids are also used for cough, diarrhea, and anesthesia.
• Adverse effects include hypotension, palpitations, flushing, sedation, disorientation, euphoria, lightheadedness, seizures, nausea, vomiting, constipation, urinary retention, itching, rash, and respiratory depression.
• Physical and psychological dependence is common.
• Opiate is a natural drug and opioid is synthetic (both bind to opiate receptors in the brain).

Question 3

Nonopioids analgesics

Answer 3

• Has analgesic and antipyretic effects. Has little to no anti-inflammatory effects. Is available OTC.
• Used for mild to moderate pain, fever, and for those that cannot take Aspirin.
• Most common example is acetaminophen
• Dangerous interactions may occur with if taken with alcohol
• Constipation is a common side effect. Also monitor for respiratory depression.

Question 4

Acute pain

Answer 4

Pain that is sudden in onset, usually subsides when tretated, and typically occurs over less than a 6 week period

Question 5

Addiction

Answer 5

Strong psychological and physical dependence on a drug or other psychoactive substance, usually resulting from habitual use, that is beyond normal voluntary control

Question 6

Agonist

Answer 6

A substance that binds to a receptor and causes a response

Question 7

Agonist-antagonist

Answer 7

A substance that binds to a receptor and causes a partial response that is not as strong as that caused by an agonist

Question 8

Analgesic ceiling effect

Answer 8

A phenomenon that occurs when a given pain drug no longer effectively controls a patients pain despite the administration of the highest safe dosages

Question 9

Antagonist

Answer 9

An agent that binds to a receptor and prevents (blocks) a response, resulting in inhibitory or antagonistic effects

Question 10

Breakthrough pain

Answer 10

Pain that lingers despite doses of a long acting dosage form for every 12 hours

Question 11

Gate theory

Answer 11

A common and well-described theory of pain transmission and pain relief. It uses a gate model to explain how impulses from damaged tissues are sensed in the brain.

Question 12

Neuropathic pain

Answer 12

Pain that results from a disturbance of function or pathological change in a nerve

Question 13

Nociceptive pain

Answer 13

Pain that arises from mechanical, chemical, or thermal irritation of peripheral sensory nerves (example after surgery)

Question 14

NSAIDs

Answer 14

Analgesics that possess anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activity but they are not steroids

Question 15

Partial angonist

Answer 15

A drug that binds to a receptor and causes an activation response and that is less than that caused by a full agonist

Question 16

Psychogenic pain

Answer 16

Pain that is of psychological origin in nature but is actual pain in the sense that pain impulses travel through nerve cells

Question 17

Referred pain

Answer 17

Pain occurring in an area away from the organ of origin

Question 18

Somatic pain

Answer 18

Pain that originates from skeletal muscles, ligaments, or joints

Question 19

Persistent pain

Answer 19

Persistent or reoccurring pain that is often difficult to treat. Typically it is pain that lasts longer than 3 months
-Neurological pathways are completely different for persistent and acute pain

Question 20

Pain

Answer 20

Pain is complicated because it it what the patient says it is. It is subjective

Question 21

Visceral Pain

Answer 21

Pain that originates from organs or smooth muscles

Question 22

Superficial Pain

Answer 22

Pain that originates from the skin or mucous membranes

Question 23

Vascular Pain

Answer 23

Pain that results from pathology of the vascular or perivascular tissues

Question 24

Phantom Pain

Answer 24

Pain experienced in a body part that has been surgically or traumatically removed

Question 25

Pain transmission

Answer 25

• A fibers cause acute, severe pain and C fibers do not cause as acute of pain as A.
• Tissue injury produces substances and these substances stimulate the nerve endings
• The fibers travel up the spinal cord and to the brain

Question 26

Pain Tolerance

Answer 26

• The amount of pain a patient can endure without its interfering with normal function
• It varys from person to person

Question 27

Pain Threshold

Answer 27

• The level of stimulus needed to produce the perception of pain