Introduction:

The impact of chronic opioid use has been related to a wide range of cognitive disorders, ranging from minor deficiencies in cognitive abilities to problems in abilities such as attention, learning, memory, and executive functions.

Objective:

To carry out a systematic review to research the cognitive impact in patients who use opioids chronically and to assess the severity of this impact.

Method:

Randomized clinical trials, case-control studies, prospective and retrospective cohorts were evaluated in two databases: PubMed and Cochrane Central, using the following search terms: "analgesic opioids", "cognitive dysfunction", "cognition impairments", "chronic disease" and "abuse, substance". The search was in English, Spanish, and Portuguese for studies conducted in adult humans with chronic opioid use and its cognitive impact.

Results:

Seven studies were selected, five of which the patients used tramadol and the negative cognitive impact was verified, a study with the use of tapentadol with a positive impact on cognition and a study with the use of hydrocodone with a positive impact on neurocognition of patients.

Conclusions:

despite the limitations found, as a conclusion it is considered that tramadol has a negative impact on neurocognition, which does not occur in relation to tapentadol and hydrocodone, which will present an improvement in the quality of life and cognition of patients.

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