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Analgesia

Fentanyl Increases Delayed Pain Sensitivity

"It has been reported that (mu)-opioid receptor activation leads to a sustained increase in glutamate synaptic effectiveness at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor level, a system associated with central hypersensitivity to pain," wrote E. Celerier and colleagues in a recent issue of Anesthesiology. "One hypothesis is that postoperative pain may result partly from the activation of NMDA pain facilitatory processes induced by opiate treatment per se."

Celerier et al. tested the theory of an opiate analgesic eliciting a delayed enhancement in pain sensitivity, and assessed what...

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