With chronic opioid use becoming an increasingly common occurrenceamong the general population, perioperative specialties must adapt to the physiologic changes caused by long-term opioids. However, data on the clinicalanesthetics implications of long-term opioid use is scarce. This review intends to survey the literature addressing the molecular mechanisms of long-term opioid use as well as their interaction with various organ systems.
Keywords: Opioids; fentanyl; hydromorphone; kappa receptor; morphine; mu receptor; mu-delta receptor.