Table 2:

Risk and benefits of opioid and non-opioid analgesics.

	Opioid Analgesia	Opioid free/ Opioid Sparing Analgesia
Risks	Respiratory depression Need for post-op ventilation with ventilator associated pneumonia Addiction Nausea & Vomiting Gastrointestinal dysfunction, ileus Pruritus Urinary retention	Bradycardia with dexmedetomidine Hepatic damage with acetaminophen Bleeding, renal impairment and bronchospasm with ketorolac Hallucinations, tachycardia and addiction with ketamine Tinnitus, seizures and cardiac arrest with lidocaine Sedation with gabapentin Hypotension with magnesium
Benefits	Analgesia Ready acceptance of poor patient outcomes by peers, due to the conventional nature of the analgesic therapy	No respiratory depression No addiction except for ketamine Less need for post op ventilation No nausea and vomiting No gastrointestinal dysfunction and ileus No pruritus No urinary retention