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World Health Organization Analgesic Ladder

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Anesthesiology In-Training Exam Review

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) Analgesic Ladder was a framework created by the WHO to provide guidance to physicians on appropriate pain relief strategies for cancer patients. It involves a three-step progression from non-opioids to weak opioids to strong opioids until sufficient pain relief is obtained. Around this central framework, adjuvant medications and procedural options are also given and recommended when deemed necessary due to ineffective pain control.

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References

  1. Cancer Pain Relief. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1986.

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  2. WHO Guidelines for the Pharmacological and Radiotherapeutic Management of Cancer Pain in Adults and Adolescents. Geneva: World Health Organization. 2018. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

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Correspondence to Jonathan M. Hagedorn .

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Hagedorn, J.M. (2022). World Health Organization Analgesic Ladder. In: Banik, R.K. (eds) Anesthesiology In-Training Exam Review. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87266-3_67

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87266-3_67

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-87265-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-87266-3

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