SIDE EFFECTS OF OPIOID DRUGS ON THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM IN CANCER PATIENTS: LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Opioid therapy is the main choice for moderate to severe pain. However, despite being effective in relation to analgesia, it brings several risks to the patients who use them, through the side effects that can occur in most users. The purpose of this study is to summarize these possible risks succinctly, clearly and objectively, how this occurs, in addition to demonstrating the severity of the interaction of the opiate drug with other drugs. Twenty articles were included for analysis between the years 2010 to 2020 of publication, dealing with pain with opioids, demonstrating the pharmacological mechanism of operation, the possible repercussions and sequelae; and articles outside the target time range or deviating from the subject matter were excluded. The study provides an analysis of each symptom generated with the use of the drug and how it happens and demonstrates what was reported in each article individually in relation to the outcomes after drug therapy. It was possible to infer that the pharmacological study of this drug is extremely important, given its relevance in the function of analgesia, its wide use and also, considering the great medical responsibility to avoid a possible iatrogeny.