Management of acute and post-operative pain in chronic kidney disease

F1000Res. 2013 Jan 30:2:28. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.2-28.v3. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease is common and patients with many co-morbid conditions frequently have to undergo surgical procedures and, therefore, require effective pain management. The pharmacokinetics of various analgesic agents are not well studied in patients with chronic kidney disease and the risk of accumulation of the main drug or their metabolites, resulting in serious adverse events, is a common scenario on medical and surgical wards. It is common for these patients to be cared for by 'non-nephrologists' who often prescribe the standard dose of the commonly used analgesics, without taking into consideration the patient's kidney function. It is important to recognize the problems and complications associated with the use of standard doses of analgesics, and highlight the importance of adjusting analgesic dosage based on kidney function to avoid complications while still providing adequate pain relief.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work.