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De Rosa F, Giannatiempo B, Charlier B, Coglianese A, Mensitieri F, Gaudino G, Cozzolino A, Filippelli A, Piazza O, Dal Piaz F, Izzo V. Pharmacological Treatments and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Patients with Chronic Pain. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:2088. [PMID: 37631302 PMCID: PMC10457775 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15082088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that affects every aspect of a patient's life and which may be treated through different pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches. Analgesics are the drugs most commonly used to treat pain, and in specific situations, the use of opioids may be considered with caution. These drugs, in fact, do not always induce optimal analgesia in patients, and several problems are associated with their use. The purpose of this narrative review is to describe the pharmacological approaches currently used for the management of chronic pain. We review several aspects, from the pain-scale-based methods currently available to assess the type and intensity of pain, to the most frequently administered drugs (non-narcotic analgesics and narcotic analgesics), whose pharmacological characteristics are briefly reported. Overall, we attempt to provide an overview of different pharmacological treatments while also illustrating the relevant guidelines and indications. We then report the strategies that may be used to reduce problems related to opioid use. Specifically, we focus our attention on therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), a tool that could help clinicians select the most suitable drug and dose to be used for each patient. The actual potential of using TDM to optimize and personalize opioid-based pain treatments is finally discussed based on recent scientific reports.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica De Rosa
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Postgraduate School of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.D.R.); (B.G.); (B.C.); (A.C.); (A.F.)
- University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, 84131 Salerno, Italy; (A.C.); (O.P.)
| | - Bruno Giannatiempo
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Postgraduate School of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.D.R.); (B.G.); (B.C.); (A.C.); (A.F.)
| | - Bruno Charlier
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Postgraduate School of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.D.R.); (B.G.); (B.C.); (A.C.); (A.F.)
- University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, 84131 Salerno, Italy; (A.C.); (O.P.)
| | - Albino Coglianese
- University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, 84131 Salerno, Italy; (A.C.); (O.P.)
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Postgraduate School of Clinical Pathology and Clinical Biochemistry, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Francesca Mensitieri
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.M.); (G.G.)
| | - Giulia Gaudino
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.M.); (G.G.)
| | - Armando Cozzolino
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Postgraduate School of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.D.R.); (B.G.); (B.C.); (A.C.); (A.F.)
| | - Amelia Filippelli
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Postgraduate School of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.D.R.); (B.G.); (B.C.); (A.C.); (A.F.)
- University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, 84131 Salerno, Italy; (A.C.); (O.P.)
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.M.); (G.G.)
| | - Ornella Piazza
- University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, 84131 Salerno, Italy; (A.C.); (O.P.)
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.M.); (G.G.)
| | - Fabrizio Dal Piaz
- University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, 84131 Salerno, Italy; (A.C.); (O.P.)
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.M.); (G.G.)
| | - Viviana Izzo
- University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, 84131 Salerno, Italy; (A.C.); (O.P.)
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; (F.M.); (G.G.)
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Abstract
This paper is the forty-second consecutive installment of the annual anthological review of research concerning the endogenous opioid system, summarizing articles published during 2019 that studied the behavioral effects of molecular, pharmacological and genetic manipulation of opioid peptides and receptors as well as effects of opioid/opiate agonists and antagonists. The review is subdivided into the following specific topics: molecular-biochemical effects and neurochemical localization studies of endogenous opioids and their receptors (1), the roles of these opioid peptides and receptors in pain and analgesia in animals (2) and humans (3), opioid-sensitive and opioid-insensitive effects of nonopioid analgesics (4), opioid peptide and receptor involvement in tolerance and dependence (5), stress and social status (6), learning and memory (7), eating and drinking (8), drug abuse and alcohol (9), sexual activity and hormones, pregnancy, development and endocrinology (10), mental illness and mood (11), seizures and neurologic disorders (12), electrical-related activity and neurophysiology (13), general activity and locomotion (14), gastrointestinal, renal and hepatic functions (15), cardiovascular responses (16), respiration and thermoregulation (17), and immunological responses (18).
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Bodnar
- Department of Psychology and Neuropsychology Doctoral Sub-Program, Queens College, City University of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY, 11367, United States.
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