Therapeutic use of opioids in the elderly patient

Abstract

The continuous use of opioid drugs has its origin best known for analgesia since the discovery of its use as an anesthetic and its therapeutic use nowadays has become relatively high due to elderly patients, mainly with chronic pain of oncological and musculoskeletal origin. However, with the aging process, both drug doses and analgesic effects must undergo new adjustments to obtain the expected results. And, in addition to the concern about drug interactions and maintenance of periodic examinations in the elderly, there are greater risks involving tolerance and pseudo addiction, which may mix physical and psychological dependence. This work intends to elucidate the pharmacodynamics in aging and update dose adjustments and possible effects in the therapeutic use of opioids in the elderly.