Non-opioid staircase treatment scheme to reduce morphine addiction: a case report

Opioids are substances that are commonly used in clinical practice because of their analgesic
properties. However, there is evidence that these drugs generate addiction and dependence,
becoming a risk for the patients in the absence of adequate control and following by health
professionals. We report the case of a young female patient with a chronic addiction to
morphine who arrived to the health facility due to myalgia, diaphoresis and chills. She was
stabilized in the emergency service and diagnosed with Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome. Due to
the fact that the establishment did not have the first line therapy, the patient was discharged
from the hospital with the following medication: valproic acid, gabapentin, mirtazapine and
quetiapine. At the time of this report, the patient was in her fourth month of treatment with
considerable clinical improvement. We present this case due to the importance of being able
to handle other therapeutic schemes for this disease.