“…Importantly, optimal opioid dosing is based on the temporal characteristics of pain. For intermittent episodic pain, patients use as-needed or around-the-clock doses of oral immediate-release opioids or intravenous (IV) opioids, whereas for continuous pain, continuous IV infusions, PCA, or oral long-acting opioids, plus additional breakthrough doses, are recommended (Chiaretti & Langer, 2005; Pasero & McCaffery, 2007; Rosenquist & Rosenberg, 2003). Short-acting opioids are used for immediate management of breakthrough pain and even NP episodes (in the context of an anticonvulsant and/or TCA regimen) (Eisenberg, McNicol, & Carr, 2005).…”