NURS 3114 Week 2: Pain Management & Oral Medication Calculations

Vocabulary flashcards covering opioid and non-opioid analgesics, NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants, toxicity symptoms, antidotes, and dosage calculation concepts.

Opioids

Medications primarily used to treat moderate to severe pain by binding to opioid receptors in the CNS to alter pain perception and response while producing CNS depression.

Mu ($\mu$) Receptors

Specific opioid receptors especially important for analgesia, sedation, respiratory depression, and physical dependence.

Classic Opioid Toxicity Triad

The clinical sign triad of opioid overdose consisting of decreased level of consciousness, respiratory depression, and pinpoint pupils (miosis).

Naloxone

An opioid antagonist that displace/blocks opioids at opioid receptors to reverse opioid-induced respiratory and CNS depression.

Morphine

The main prototype opioid administered via PO, IV, IM, SubQ, and rectal routes requiring close monitoring for respiratory depression, sedation, and hypotension.

Hydromorphone

A highly potent opioid (Dilaudid) given PO, IV, IM, or SubQ, where small doses produce significant effects, requiring careful dose verification.

Fentanyl

A very potent opioid whose transdermal patch form is intended for opioid-tolerant patients with persistent pain; heat increases absorption and patches must never be cut.

Oxycodone

An oral opioid often combined with acetaminophen whose extended-release formulations must never be crushed.

Methadone

An opioid with a long and variable half-life that can cause delayed respiratory depression and QT prolongation leading to torsades de pointes.

NSAIDs

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs that reduce pain, fever, and inflammation without being steroids or opioids by inhibiting cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes.

COX Enzymes

Cyclooxygenase enzymes responsible for synthesizing prostaglandins, which signal pain, fever, and inflammation, while protecting the stomach lining and renal blood flow.

Prostaglandins

Chemical messengers that signal pain, fever, and tissue inflammation, while performing protective functions in the stomach lining, kidneys, and platelets.

Aspirin

An NSAID that inhibits platelet aggregation and carries risks of GI bleeding, tinnitus (salicylate toxicity), and Reye syndrome in youth.

Reye Syndrome

A rare but severe condition causing brain and liver damage when aspirin is given to children or teenagers recovering from viral illnesses such as influenza or chickenpox.

Ketorolac

A potent NSAID indicated for short-term treatment of moderate to severe acute pain for a maximum total treatment duration of $5\text{ days}$ due to severe GI bleeding and renal risks.

Ibuprofen

A common over-the-counter NSAID that reduces pain, fever, and inflammation, carrying risks of GI irritation, kidney injury, bleeding, and cardiovascular events.

Acetaminophen

A non-opioid analgesic and antipyretic (Tylenol) acting primarily in the CNS to reduce pain and fever without producing significant peripheral anti-inflammatory activity.

Acetylcysteine

The antidote administered to prevent or limit liver damage following an acetaminophen overdose.

Hepatotoxicity

Severe liver injury or failure resulting from taking excessive doses of acetaminophen or combining it with chronic alcohol consumption or existing liver disease.

Gabapentin

An anticonvulsant used for neuropathic pain that decreases the calcium-dependent release of excitatory neurotransmitters to decrease abnormal nerve firing.

Cyclobenzaprine

A centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant used short-term to reduce somatic motor activity within the CNS to relieve acute muscle spasms.

Tolerance

A physical adaptation where increasing doses of a drug are required over time to achieve the same initial therapeutic effect.

Physical Dependence

A state in which abrupt cessation or rapid reduction of a drug produces physical withdrawal symptoms.

Opioid Use Disorder (Addiction)

A clinical disorder involving problematic opioid use despite harmful consequences