RESUMEN
Pain is highly prevalent among the adult Latin American population. However, many patients with moderate to severe pain do not have access to effective pain management with opioids due to limited access to healthcare, overuse of nonopioid analgesics, regulatory barriers and lack of appropriate information about opioids. There is scarce training on use of opioids among physicians and other healthcare providers, which leads to misconceptions, mainly related to a fear of prescribing opioids. Although opioids are safe and effective drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic pain, the use of opioids in Latin American nations is clearly below standards compared with developed countries.
Asunto(s)
Analgésicos Opioides/uso terapéutico , Dolor Crónico/tratamiento farmacológico , Manejo del Dolor , Dolor Crónico/epidemiología , Femenino , Accesibilidad a los Servicios de Salud , Humanos , América Latina/epidemiología , Masculino , Dimensión del DolorRESUMEN
AIM: Latin-American experts in the use of opioids in patients with chronic nononcologic pain (CNOP) have updated existing recommendations to current Latin-American reality. METHODS: Several key opinion leaders from Latin America participated in a face-to-face meeting in Guatemala (April 2015) to discuss the use of opioids in CNOP. Subgroups of experts worked on specific topics, reviewed the literature and shaped the final manuscript. RESULTS: The expert panel developed guidelines taking into consideration the utility of both opioid and nonopioid analgesics and factors pertaining to their efficacy, safety, adherence, administration and risks for abuse/addiction. CONCLUSION: Latin-American guidelines for the use of opioids in CNOP should improve pain relief and patients' quality of life by increasing access to these effective agents.