Pharmacological advances in the multimodal management of perioperative analgesia

The concept of multimodal analgesia is currently widespread in our clinical practice. The aim of multimodal analgesia is to reduce the side effects derived from the drugs or techniques used for the control of pain together with greater effectiveness (combination of multiple mechanisms of action) with the maximum efficiency, that is, to combine different pharmacodynamics (synergistic or additive effects) and pharmacokinetics, in the context of a predictable acute pain model, thus allowing a prior strategy such as the model of acute postoperative pain. Pain is a complex physiological phenomenon. Postoperative pain involves multiple pathways including nociceptive, inflammatory, and neuropathic sources. In the transmission of pain therefore, different molecules participate, which means that there are multiple pharmacological targets on which to act, and therefore a wide range of drugs to be used following the physiology of pain.