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Use of the term "narcotic"

Letters are welcome and encouraged. They may address topics that have previously appeared in Critical Care Nurse or that affect critical care practice. Please be concise; letters are subject to editing. Include your name, credentials, city and state, and e-mail address (for verification, not publication), and send to Letters to the Editor, Critical Care Nurse, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; fax to (949) 362-2049; or e-mail to ccn{at}aacn.org. Letters also may be sent via eLetters from the journal’s Web site, available at www.ccnonline.org.

I read with interest the article, Physiology and Treatment of Pain, in the December 2008 issue (2008:38–50), by Jennifer Helms and Claudia Barone. I applaud the authors for addressing the topic of pain, which is most certainly relevant in the critical care setting, but continues to be underrecognized, misunderstood, and inadequately treated despite at least 3 decades of research.

My question is in regard to a statement on page 47; the authors write, "Pain control in intensive care unit patients should encompass use of a variety of pain-relieving approaches. These may include options such as traditional opioids and nonopioid analgesics as well as narcotics and synthetic narcotics."

I do not understand what the reference to "narcotics" is to convey, because the authors had already referred to opioids, which includes medications such as morphine and hydromorphone, as well as meperidine, a synthetic opioid. The term "narcotic" refers to illegal substances such as heroin, and is a pejorative term. An ongoing issue for management of pain control continues to be the misconception and fear of addiction to "narcotics," which is held by patients, families, and health care providers including nurses and credentialed prescribers.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Respond to This Article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ryan, C. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ryan, C. F.