Matoba M
Kitasato University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Kitasato Sagamihara City, Kanagawa, Japan.
Eur J Pain. 2001;5 Suppl A:59-62. doi: 10.1053/eujp.2001.0281.
Adjuvant drugs are used to enhance effects of analgesics and morphine-resistant pain such as neuropathic pain. If morphine provides inadequate pain relief and evokes drowsiness, morphine is usually ineffective. The key is the patient's reaction to morphine. When a patient's pain includes neuropathic pain, a combination of morphine and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is partially effective, but morphine-resistant pain remains. Increasing morphine dosage causes drowsiness without pain improvement. Appropriate adjuvant drugs are necessary in these conditions.