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Opioids and Other Analgesics

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Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness

Abstract

The opioids hold a unique place amongst addictive substances in that they have a critical and indispensable role in medical treatment. This is as true today as it was in ancient times, for despite medical advances, palliation is still needed, and there are no better drugs than the opioids for treating severe pain and suffering. Recreational use of opioids, once as opium, has an established place in human history and is more prevalent today than ever because of a number of geopolitical and societal factors (Administration USDE. Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS), Retail Drug Summary Report; http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/arcos/retail_drug_summary/index.html; Associated Press Analysis. http://wwwihtcom/articles/ap/2007/08/20/america/NA-FEA-GEN-US-World-of-Painphp). That these two often conflicting roles for opioids exist presents real difficulty in terms of how these drugs should be used and controlled so as to help patients and not harm them. This chapter will explore some of the issues surrounding opioid pain therapy, and how opioid addiction impacts this.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    May include concomitant substance use disorders as well as iatrogenic opioid addiction (addiction arising directly out of opioid pain treatment), since in several studies there is no distinction made.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Penn Pain Medicine Center, 2nd floor Tuttleman Building, 1840 South Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19146, USA

    Jane C. Ballantyne

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  1. Jane C. Ballantyne
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Correspondence to Jane C. Ballantyne .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Psychopharmacology, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, Utrecht, 3584CG, Netherlands

    Joris C. Verster

  2. Dept. Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, President St. 67, Charleston, 29425, South Carolina, USA

    Kathleen Brady

  3. School of Medicine, Div. Alcoholism & Drug Abuse, New York University, First Ave. 550, New York, 10016, New York, USA

    Marc Galanter

  4. Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, National Addiction Centre, Windsor Walk 4, London, SE5 8AF, United Kingdom

    Patricia Conrod

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Ballantyne, J.C. (2012). Opioids and Other Analgesics. In: Verster, J., Brady, K., Galanter, M., Conrod, P. (eds) Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3375-0_18

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