Tapentadol: a novel analgesic for treating moderate to severe pain

Pain management in primary care relies on a combination of pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments. Opioid analgesics are widely employed but long-term use can lead to side-effects and issues including drug tolerance. In this article, Anthony Dickenson considers tapentadol, the first in a new class of centrally acting analgesics with two mechanisms of action in a single molecule and the promise of fewer sideeffects than pure opioid agonists.