AU - Halpern LM

TI - Analgesic drugs in the management of pain

AB - AB - The use of potent narcotics to control severe pain should be of short duration and limited to

patients with acute diseases or inoperable or metastatic cancer who require long-term relief. Continued and

prolonged use of narcotics in patients with chronic benign pain is not recommended because of serious

behavioral consequences, the development of tolerance, and addiction liability. Long-term use of analgesic

drugs in chronic pain usually produces negative behavioral complications that are more difficult to manage

than the pain it was desired to eliminate. The use of antidepressant drugs in the pain regimen has been found

to provide increased relief of pain and often allows the dose of narcotic analgesic to be reduced or totally

eliminated UI - 77220872

SO - Arch Surg 1977;112:861-869