The aims of researchers in a methadone programme for pain patients in Sweden
were to improve pain relief and quality of life in patients with problematic
opioid use and to study background factors explaining problems with opioid use.
Records of 60 patients in the methadone programme from 1994-2002 were studied.
Interviews were conducted with 48 patients after 34 months of methadone treatment
regarding pain relief, quality of life, and side effects. Titration of oral
methadone in daily doses ranging from 10 to 350mg was done on all patients.
Background factors were low back and musculoskeletal pain, psychiatric disease,
and substance use disorder. Before methadone treatment all patients were on
sick leave. After treatment five patients returned to work. Ten patients failed
treatment, 4 due to intractable nausea, 4 to drug diversion, 1 because of methadone-related
arrhythmia, and 1 because of insufficient pain relief. Pain relief was rated
good by 75% and moderate by 25% of the patients. Quality of life was rated at
mean of 50 (on a scale of 0-100). CONCLUSION: A structured methadone programme
can be used to treat chronic pain patients with opioid dependence, improving
pain relief and quality of life, but, side effects and serious adverse events
may limit these benefits. Rhodin A, Gronbladh L, Nilsson LH, Gordh T. Eur J
Pain. 2005 Jun 20.
Read more: PMID 15972261
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15972261&query_hl=3
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