title: Chemical abuse and pain management.
abstract: This article provides additional direction for nurses in altering the pain management plan for individuals who are currently abusing chemicals. There is a definition of terms (i.e., chemical dependence, addiction, physical dependence, tolerance, and cross tolerance), to provide a foundation for this clinical practice. A review of the literature explains theories that explain what we find occurs clinically: that patients who are chemically dependent require more narcotic to control their postoperative pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine at Park Nicollet Medical Center in Minneapolis, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: St Marie
mesh_terms: D004361:Drug Tolerance; D006801:Humans; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*