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Opioids in Pain

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Abstract

This chapter reviews pain definition and classification depending on location (somatic or visceral), duration (acute or chronic), and etiology (nociceptive, neuropathic, or nociplastic). It also reviews the different scales used to assess pain only (unidimensional) or pain and the emotional and cognitive changes associated with it (multidimensional pain assessing scales); the physiology of pain, including the ascending and descending pain pathways; and the analgesic ladder proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat pains of different severities. After this general review of pain essential aspects, this chapter addresses the role of opioids in acute pain treatment and the limitations of opioid use in chronic pain management.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital Ángeles Lomas, Huixquilucan, State of Mexico, Mexico

    Rocío Torres-Méndez & Rafael Acuña-Prats

  2. Opioids Working Group, Global Studies Seminar, Faculty of Medicine, National University Autonomous of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico

    Nayely V. Salazar-Trujillo & Silvia L. Cruz

  3. Department of Pharmacobiology, Cinvestav, Mexico City, Mexico

    Silvia L. Cruz

  4. Internal Medicine Physician, Private Practice, Mexico City, Mexico

    Juan C. Molina-Covarrubias

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  1. Rocío Torres-Méndez
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  2. Rafael Acuña-Prats
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  3. Nayely V. Salazar-Trujillo
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  4. Silvia L. Cruz
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  5. Juan C. Molina-Covarrubias
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacobiology, Cinvestav, Mexico City, Mexico

    Silvia L. Cruz

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Torres-Méndez, R., Acuña-Prats, R., Salazar-Trujillo, N.V., Cruz, S.L., Molina-Covarrubias, J.C. (2022). Opioids in Pain. In: Cruz, S.L. (eds) Opioids. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09936-6_10

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