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25 - Opioid therapy in addicted patients: background and perspective from the UK

from 3 - Pain management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2012

Gail A. Van Norman
Affiliation:
University of Washington
Stephen Jackson
Affiliation:
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose
Stanley H. Rosenbaum
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine
Susan K. Palmer
Affiliation:
Oregon Anesthesiology Group
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Summary

Ethical problems presented by opioid-dependent patients suffering from pain are challenging, but can be guided by simple principles of ethical medical practice. This chapter presents three case studies on opioid therapy for addicted patients. The first is of a 35-year-old woman with chronic leg pain secondary to vascular damage from previous recurrent groin infections associated with intravenous opioid use. The second deals with a 34-year-old man with acute alcohol poisoning. The third focuses on a 40-year-old man with a significant history of drug misuse. The chapter then explains their resolutions from the UK perspective. A major problem with pain management in the patient with opioid dependency is lack of physician knowledge about appropriate prescribing; education of physicians is key to developing reasonable prescribing practices. A principle like that of "double effect" might be useful in defining appropriate physician behavior in relieving pain in the potentially dependent patient.
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Clinical Ethics in Anesthesiology
A Case-Based Textbook
, pp. 148 - 153
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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