The use of epidural and intrathecal analgesia in palliative care.
Oral analgesics and adjunctive medicines will be used to meet the needs of most palliative care patients in terms of pain relief. However, for a small number of patients, this will not be adequate for satisfactory relief from pain, resulting in a lower quality of life. For such patients, using some of the more 'technical approaches' to pain relief, e.g. epidural or intrathecal analgesia, can prove beneficial. Taking the anatomy of the spinal space into consideration, this article will present the indications and contraindications for spinal analgesia, as well as drugs used and the most appropriate methods of drug administration.
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Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust, Luton, UK.
D000284:Administration, Oral; D015360:Analgesia, Epidural; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D004868:Equipment Failure; D006801:Humans; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D009732:Nursing Care; D059408:Pain Management; D010166:Palliative Care; D018579:Patient Selection; D011788:Quality of Life; D013131:Spine / Q000033:anatomy & histology
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid