Abstract

FERRETIZ-LOPEZ, Giancarlo  and  CUELLAR-GUZMAN, Luis Felipe. Opioids and equianalgesic rotation in the perioperative period. Rev. mex. anestesiol. [online]. 2019, vol.42, n.3, pp.225-225.  Epub Sep 13, 2021. ISSN 0484-7903.

Recent advances in pain management in the perioperative period include a better understanding of pain mechanisms, physiology, pharmacology and availability of new drugs and devices. Opioids are the cornerstone for the treatment of postoperative acute pain, especially for procedures that cause moderate to severe pain. However, its adverse effects sometimes limit the doses, delay postoperative recovery and can endanger the life of the patients if are not adequately controlled. When a surgical event is scheduled it is necessary to change the opioid or the administration route, which is known as «opioid rotation», which consists in changing an opioid drug administered by the same route to the same drug by a different route or to another opioid by another administration route, with the objective of improving analgesia, reducing side effects or patient conditions. The calculation of equianalgesic doses involves the use of Tables constructed from studies in which the relative potencies of the different opioids are compared (visit http://www.painoutmexico.com to see the full article).

Keywords : Opioids; pain; dosage; rotation.