American journal of therapeutics
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Opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) is a phenomenon that causes an increased pain sensitization and perception of pain to noxious stimuli secondary to opioid exposure. While this clinical effect has been described in the surgical setting, it is unclear if OIH occurs in the nonsurgical setting. ⋯ Most included studies identified OIH as a significant outcome within the nonsurgical setting. However, due to conflicting conclusions and various limitations, the clinical impact of OIH could not be assessed. Clinicians should monitor for effects of OIH in the nonoperative setting because there is insufficient evidence from the available literature to conclude that OIH is consistently observed in this setting.