Your long term care patient has chronic pain and at this point in time the patient needs increasing dosages to adequately control this pain.. Drug tolerance

Your long term care patient has chronic pain and at this point in time the patient needs increasing dosages to adequately control this pain. What is this patient most likely to be affected with?
A- Drug addiction
B- Drug interactions
C- Drug side effects
D- Drug tolerance

Correct Response: D

Patients with chronic pain are often affected with drug tolerance. Drug tolerance occurs when the patient needs increasing dosages of analgesic medications to adequately control their pain in order to produce the same effect that was produced when the drug was originally begun. Drug addiction, on the other hand, is a constant and compulsive need for a drug even when the use of the drug causes harm to the person. Addiction can occur with or without physical dependence. The need for increasing dosages is not the result of medication side effects or food/drug or drug/drug interactions.
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