Antipsychotics for acute and chronic pain in adults.

The role of antipsychotics as adjuvant analgesics is a subject of longstanding controversy. Neuroleptanalgesia (i.e. a state of quiescence, altered awareness, and analgesia produced by a combination of taking an opioid analgesic and an antipsychotic), an established term for the management of acute pain, was shown to negatively influence disease course and total mortality in unstable angina patients. Nevertheless, antipsychotics are used to treat chronic pain (e.g. chronic headache, fibromyalgia and diabetic neuropathia). With atypical antipsychotics, a new class of antipsychotics, fewer extrapyramidal side effects and additional benefits may be available.