Chapter 11 SLO 3 Flashcards
Acute pain
Pain that is sudden in onset, usually subsides when treated, and typically occurs over less than a 6-week period. (p. 167)
Addiction
Strong psychological or physical dependence on
a drug or other psychoactive substance, usually resulting from habitual use, that is beyond normal voluntary control. (p. 171)
Adjuvant analgesic drugs
Drugs that are added for combined therapy with a primary drug and may have additive or independent analgesic properties, or both. (p. 166)
Agonists
Substances that bind to a receptor and cause a response. (p. 172)
Agonist–antagonists
Substances that bind to a receptor and cause a partial response that is not as strong as that caused by agonists (also known as partial agonists). (p. 172)
Analgesic ceiling effect
The effect that occurs when a particular pain drug no longer effectively controls a patient’s pain despite the administration of the highest safe dosages. (p. 172)
Analgesics
Medications that relieve pain (sometimes referred to as painkillers). (p. 166)
Antagonists
Substances that bind to a receptor and prevent (block) a response, resulting in inhibitory or antagonistic drug effects; also called inhibitors. (p. 173)
Breakthrough pain
Pain that occurs between doses of pain medication. (p. 171)
Cancer pain
Pain resulting from any of a variety of causes resulting from cancer or the metastasis of cancer. (p. 168)
Central pain
Pain resulting from any disorder that causes central nervous system damage. (p. 169)
Gate control theory
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. (p. 169)
Neuropathic pain
Pain that results from a disturbance of function or pathological change in a nerve. (p. 168)
Nociception
Processing of pain signals in the brain that gives rise to the feeling of pain. (p. 166)
Nociceptive pain
Pain that arises from mechanical, chemical, or thermal irritation of peripheral sensory nerves (e.g., after surgery or trauma or associated with degenerative processes). Two subtypes of nociceptive pain are visceral and somatic. (p. 166)
Nociceptors
A subclass of sensory nerves (A and C fibres) that transmit pain signals to the central nervous system from other body parts. (p. 166)
Nonopioid analgesics
Analgesics that are structurally and functionally different from opioids. (p. 182)
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
A large, chemically diverse group of drugs that are analgesics and possess anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties but are not corticosteroids. (p. 169)
Opiate analgesics
Synthetic drugs that bind to opiate receptors to relieve pain. (p. 173)
Opioid naive
A description of patients who are receiving opioid analgesics for the first time or intermittently for a brief period of time and who therefore are not accustomed to their effects. (p. 176)
Opioid tolerant
The opposite of opioid naive; a description of patients who have been receiving opioid analgesics (legally or otherwise) for a period of time (1 week or longer) and who are at greater risk of opioid withdrawal syndrome upon sudden discontinuation. (p. 171)
Opioid withdrawal
The signs and symptoms associated with abstinence from, withdrawal of, or dose reduction of an opioid analgesic when the body has become physically
dependent on the substance. (p. 176)
Pain
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience
associated with actual or potential tissue damage. (p. 166)
Pain threshold
The level of stimulus that results in the
sensation of pain. (p. 167)
