Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2019
Comparative StudyRepeated Morphine Prolongs Postoperative Pain in Male Rats.
Opioids are effective postoperative analgesics. Disturbingly, we have previously reported that opioids such as morphine can worsen inflammatory pain and peripheral and central neuropathic pain. These deleterious effects are mediated by immune mediators that promote neuronal hyperexcitability in the spinal dorsal horn. Herein, we tested whether perioperative morphine could similarly prolong postoperative pain in male rats. ⋯ These studies indicate the morphine can have a deleterious effect on postoperative pain. These studies further suggest that longitudinal studies could be performed to test whether opioids similarly prolong postoperative pain in the clinic.