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PMID: 19079686 Published · ppublish English Journal Article

Opiates and the development of post-injury complications: a review.

International journal of clinical and experimental medicine ·Vol. 1 ·No. 1 ·2008-00-00 ·Pages 42-9

Schwacha MG

Abstract

Opiates are the analgesic of choice for the treatment of post-burn, -trauma and -surgical pain, however, it is also well-established that opiates can induce immune complications. These complications, independent of the analgesic regime, are also associated with severe traumatic injuries, such as burns. Recent findings suggest that opiates can contribute to immune and infectious complications in experimental and clinical settings. Based on the immunomodulatory properties of opiate analgesics their therapeutic use/misuse post-injury may contribute to the development of complications leading to increased morbidity and mortality in this patient population. An improved understanding of the relationship(s) between opiates and complications following major injury, such as burn trauma is likely to contribute towards an improvement in existing, as well as the development of new therapeutic regimes. This review will focus on the role of opiate analgesic usage and abuse and in the development of complications following major traumatic injury with a particular emphasis on burn injury.

Keywords
Morphine burn immune infection macrophage T-cell
Authors & Affiliations
1 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Schwacha Martin G
Department of Surgery and Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL 35852, USA.
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Article Info
Journal
International journal of clinical and experimental medicine
Abbr.
Int J Clin Exp Med
ISSN
1940-5901
Published
2008-00-00
Epub
2008-00-20
Pages
42-9
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
101471010
PMCID
PMC2596335
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM079122 · United States
External Links
PubMed source PMC Full Text View journal details
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