What new and emerging therapies exist to treat acute postoperative pain?
Opioids continue to be the standard for treating moderate to severe postoperative pain. However, with the current emphasis on multimodal and nonopioid therapies, there has been a recent emergence of new nonopioid therapies, including intravenous acetaminophen and liposomal encapsulated bupivacaine. In addition, a sublingual sufentanil tablet system delivered via a patient controlled delivery device is in clinical development. With the widespread surge in opioid abuse and overdose in the United States over the past decade, there are efforts to develop abuse-deterrent, short-acting opioids for acute pain management.
