Opioid-induced hyperalgesia is best described as a paradoxical increase in pain sensitivity despite:

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia is best described as a paradoxical increase in pain sensitivity despite:

• A. Decreasing opioid dosage
• B. Increasing opioid dosage
• C. No change in pain with dosage
• D. Tolerance to analgesia

Answer: (B)

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia is a state where the nervous system becomes more responsive to pain with ongoing or higher-dose opioid exposure. The hallmark is that increasing the opioid dose can paradoxically worsen pain or lower the pain threshold, rather than provide relief. This distinguishes it from simple tolerance, where you need more opioid to achieve the same level of analgesia but the pain itself isn’t necessarily amplified by dose increase. So the best description is that pain sensitivity rises as the opioid dose increases. Reducing the dose or rotating to a different strategy can help, and adding non-opioid analgesics or adjuvants may be considered.

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia is a state where the nervous system becomes more responsive to pain with ongoing or higher-dose opioid exposure. The hallmark is that increasing the opioid dose can paradoxically worsen pain or lower the pain threshold, rather than provide relief. This distinguishes it from simple tolerance, where you need more opioid to achieve the same level of analgesia but the pain itself isn’t necessarily amplified by dose increase.

So the best description is that pain sensitivity rises as the opioid dose increases. Reducing the dose or rotating to a different strategy can help, and adding non-opioid analgesics or adjuvants may be considered.