Use of Opioids for Cancer Pain
Key Points
Key Points
- Moderate-to-severe pain can be effectively manged with opioids, though serious challenges to their use exist, including well-characterized adverse events.
- As a result of opioid misuse, opioid-related deaths and other challenges, people with cancer report stigma and concern related to opioid use.
- Patients express fear of “addiction” along with guilt and a sense of moral failure that they require opioids, causing some to skip a dose or take a lower dose than prescribed.
Treatment
...Treatme...
...mmendation 1.1Opioids should be offered to pati...
...ommendation 1.2Prior to initiating opioid therap...
...n 2.1For patients who are candidate...
...n 2.2Clinicians with limited experience with metha...
...mmendation 3.1Opioids should be in...
Recommendation 3.2Opioids should be initiated as...
...endation 3.3Patients who have been taking ot...
...ndation 3.4Evidence remains insufficient to re...
...ation 3.5Evidence remains insufficient to re...
...endation 3.6For patients with a substance...
...n 4Clinicians should proactively of...
....1For patients with renal impairment...
...tion 5.2For patients with renal or...
...tions 6.1In patients receiving opioids ar...
Recommendation 6.2Evidence remains insuffici...
...n 7Opioid rotation should be offered to patie...
...able 1. Prevention and Management of...