Articles: analgesics.
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Modified-release opioid tablets were introduced into surgical practice in the belief that they provided superior pain relief and reduced nursing workload, and they rapidly became embedded into many perioperative pathways. Although national and international guidelines for the management of postoperative pain now advise against the use of modified-release opioids, they continue to be prescribed in many centres. ⋯ Their slow onset and offset make rapid and safe titration of these opioids impossible, including down-titration as the patient recovers; pain relief may be less effective; they have been associated with an increased incidence of opioid-related adverse drug events, increased length of hospital stay, and higher readmission rates; and they lead to higher rates of opioid-induced ventilatory impairment and persistent postoperative opioid use. Evidence indicates that modified-release opioids should not be used routinely in the postoperative period.
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Opioids have a vital role in alleviating pain from cancer and surgery. Despite good intentions, it is now recognised that the original WHO Cancer Pain Relief guidance from 1986, in which opioids were classified as either weak or strong, has been both inadvertently and purposefully misused, thereby contributing to harm from opioid use and misuse. However, the recommendation in the 2018 update of the WHO analgesic ladder that a combination of a high-potency opioid with simple analgesics is better than alternative analgesics for the maintenance of pain relief is also applicable to patients who require short-term opioids. Furthermore, because potential harm through opioid use and misuse is intrinsic to all opioids, whether weak or strong, we argue that the arbitrary classification of opioids either as weak or strong should be discontinued, as this description is not helpful to either prescribers or consumers.