We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
To save content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Ethical problems presented by opioid-dependent patients suffering from pain are challenging, but can be guided by simple principles of ethical medical practice. This chapter presents three case studies on opioid therapy for addicted patients. The first is of a 35-year-old woman with chronic leg pain secondary to vascular damage from previous recurrent groin infections associated with intravenous opioid use. The second deals with a 34-year-old man with acute alcohol poisoning. The third focuses on a 40-year-old man with a significant history of drug misuse. The chapter then explains their resolutions from the UK perspective. A major problem with pain management in the patient with opioid dependency is lack of physician knowledge about appropriate prescribing; education of physicians is key to developing reasonable prescribing practices. A principle like that of "double effect" might be useful in defining appropriate physician behavior in relieving pain in the potentially dependent patient.
Recommend this
Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this to your organisation's collection.