Medications Used to Control Pain

* WHO means World Health Organization. Patients rate pain on a 10-point scale in which 0 is no pain at all and 10 is the worst pain imaginable. For patients who report their pain is a 1 to 4 in severity, they are to be treated with aspirin (ASA), acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), or adjuvant medications such as steroids or anticonvulsants. Adjuvant medications are other non-opioid medications that are added to enhance analgesia. For patients who rate their pain as a 5 or 6, they are to be treated with acetaminophen with codeine (A/Codeine), tramadol, adjuvant medications, or other medications in combination with acetamimophen (A/…). For patients who rate their pain as 7-10, they are to be treated with the strongest opioids listed in the third step of the ladder.

In 1986, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a 3-step conceptual model to guide the management of cancer pain. It provides a simple, well-tested approach for the rational selection, administration, and titration of a large number of analgesics. Today, there is worldwide consensus favoring its use for the medical management of all pain associated with serious illness.