Articles: analgesics.
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Children often do not express pain in terms that are easily understood by adults. Distraction by parents or other factors may address the emotional component of pediatric pain, leading caregivers to assume that no physical pain exists. This review of acute pain management in children examines traditional practices as well as recent developments in acute pain management in infants and children.
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The use of patient-controlled analgesia systems in the postoperative period has become quite popular over the past several years. The systems to date have been limited to analgesics administered intravenously. The purpose of this study was to extend the use of a patient-controlled analgesia system to include oral analgesics during a patient's hospital stay.
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Opioid receptors are described and differentiated by their affinities for specific agonists and antagonists. Their sites of action and receptor activities are discussed. Tachyphylaxis and tolerance are described and methods for overcoming these problems are recommended. Suggestions are made regarding future drugs to act at specific receptors.