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There may be gender differences in the perception of pain
and susceptibility to opioids. This article discusses using intravenous morphine
to relieve pain after surgery to assess the effect of gender on reported pain.
Because of the wide range of dose requirements for pain management, the researchers
conducted a prospective study in a large population and included the effect
of aging. Intravenous morphine was administered immediately after surgery.
The visual analog pain scale (VAS) threshold required to administer morphine
was 30, and pain relief was defined on that scale as a score of 30 or less.
Data from 4,317 patients were analyzed (54% male; 46% female). The mean morphine
dose required to obtain pain relief was 11.9 +/- 6.8 mg or 0.173 +/- 0.103
mg/kg. Women had a higher initial VAS score and required a greater dose of
morphine. In contrast, no significant difference was noted in the elderly.
Women experienced more severe pain after surgery and required a greater dose
(+11%) of morphine than men in the immediate postoperative period. Aubrun
F, Salvi N, Coriat P, Riou B. Adapted from Anesthesiology. 2005 Jul;103(1):156-160.
PMID: 15983468
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15983468&query_hl=3
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