Opioid Addiction, Dependence and Tolerance
When managing the patient with opioids, it is vital to establish the differences between physical dependence, tolerance, and addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine and American Academy of Pain Management define physical dependence as a state of adaption that is manifested by a drug class for which specific withdrawal syndrome can be produced by abrupt cessation, rapid dose reduction, decreasing blood levels of the drug, and/or administration of an antagonist. Tolerance, however, refers to a state of adaption in which exposure to a drug induces changes that result in […]
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