As acute overdose and long-term dependence are concerns when treating acute and chronic pain with opiates, it is important to minimize the dose prescribed in order to reduce the amount of drug the patient receives. The evidence showing a diminished response to opioid-mediated analgesia in G118 subjects illustrates the need for utilizing pharmacogenetics when developing treatment options. For instance, though G118 patients require higher doses of opioids for pain management, it has also been shown that they may be more resistant to the respiratory depressive effects of alfentanil than A118 allele-carrying individuals, suggesting that there may be less risk in providing these higher doses (Oertel et al., 2006).
