Anaesthesiology intensive therapy
-
Anaesthesiol Intensive Ther · Jan 2012
ReviewThe use of opioid adjuvants in perioperative multimodal analgesia.
Postoperative analgesia plays a crucial role in day-case surgery. Patients expect effective pain relief after surgery, without side effects, and this may not always be possible when more complicated procedures are performed in ambulatory settings. ⋯ Multimodal analgesia, combining different groups of analgesics, both opioid and non-opioid, with different mechanisms of action, and targets in central and peripheral nervous systems with minimal side effects may be an answer. In this review, we present and discuss the current status of knowledge, with special reference to the role of adjuvants to opioids in acute postoperative pain.