Abstract
Opioid medications are increasingly used to treat chronic pain. Opioid-associated respiratory depression, and their potential to cause nocturnal apneas, is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to nocturnal hypoxemia and sleep-disordered breathing. Given the widespread use of opioids, understanding their mechanism of action and their potential to cause adverse effects particularly during sleep is critical. This article reviews the salient features of the physiologic control of respiration and sleep, and the role opioids play in altering that regulation. Additionally, we summarize the evidence regarding the association between opioid use and sleep-disordered breathing and explore treatment modalities for opioid-associated nocturnal respiratory depression and apneas.
Keywords: Opioids, sleep-disordered breathing, sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, control of breathing, apnea, non-mailgnant, retrotrapezoid, escalation, synergistic, orphanin, hypoxia, hypercarbia, enkephalins, hydromorphone, methadone, narcotics, adenotonsillectomy, dexmedetomidine
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title: Opioids, Sleep, and Sleep-Disordered Breathing
Volume: 17 Issue: 15
Author(s): Moshe Zutler and Jon-Erik C. Holty
Affiliation:
Keywords: Opioids, sleep-disordered breathing, sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, control of breathing, apnea, non-mailgnant, retrotrapezoid, escalation, synergistic, orphanin, hypoxia, hypercarbia, enkephalins, hydromorphone, methadone, narcotics, adenotonsillectomy, dexmedetomidine
Abstract: Opioid medications are increasingly used to treat chronic pain. Opioid-associated respiratory depression, and their potential to cause nocturnal apneas, is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to nocturnal hypoxemia and sleep-disordered breathing. Given the widespread use of opioids, understanding their mechanism of action and their potential to cause adverse effects particularly during sleep is critical. This article reviews the salient features of the physiologic control of respiration and sleep, and the role opioids play in altering that regulation. Additionally, we summarize the evidence regarding the association between opioid use and sleep-disordered breathing and explore treatment modalities for opioid-associated nocturnal respiratory depression and apneas.
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Cite this article as:
Zutler Moshe and C. Holty Jon-Erik, Opioids, Sleep, and Sleep-Disordered Breathing, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2011; 17 (15) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161211796197070
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161211796197070 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
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