ABSTRACT
Patients are prescribed mu (µ) opiate receptor agonists to manage moderate to severe symptoms of pain. Other than µ-agonists, such as fentanyl and morphine, no other types of drugs can be used to adequately treat patients with severe pain (1-3). However, physicians do know that µagonist treatment will also produce significant side effects that, in some cases, are life-threatening (1-3). The major drawback to the use of µ-analgesics is a substantial adverse side effect profile that includes respiratory depression (RD), nausea, emesis, constipation, and addiction (1,4,5). Physicians actually limit the amount of drug that is prescribed to compensate for these adverse effects (1,5). Consequently, patients do not receive adequate relief from severe symptoms of pain (1,2,6).
