Weak opioids--an educational substitute for morphine?
The World Health Organization guidelines suggest the use of weak opioids on the second step of the analgesic ladder for cancer pain relief. Weak opioids are important substitutes for low doses of morphine, although their analgesic efficacy is lower than that of non-opioid or strong opioid analgesics. The use of weak opioids has great educational impact and has helped spread the use of the guidelines. Furthermore, weak opioids are more freely available and are expected to have a better side-effect profile. Controlled long-term studies are required for confirmation.
Grond
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Department of Anaesthesiology and Operative Intensive Care, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Meuser
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