Methadone in the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain

Autor: Gil Schreier, Abdulaziz Al-Mahrezi, Bruno Gagnon
Rok vydání: 2003
Předmět:
Zdroj: Pain Research and Management, Vol 8, Iss 3, Pp 149-154 (2003)
ISSN: 1203-6765
DOI: 10.1155/2003/236718
Popis: BACKGROUND: Methadone, being an N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor antagonist, may have a potential role in the treatment of neuropathic pain.OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of methadone in the treatment of neuropathic pain and to estimate the possible dose ranges needed for pain control.METHODS: Methadone was offered as a treatment option to consecutive cancer and noncancer patients with neuropathic pain. Pain intensity was measured by the visual analogue scale (VAS) (0-10 cm where 0 = no pain and 10 = worst possible pain). Mechanical allodynia and paroxysmal (shooting) pain were assessed clinically. All assessments were collected prospectively before treatment and once a stable dose of methadone was reached.RESULTS: A total number of 18 patients met our inclusion criteria. The mean pretreatment VAS ± SD was 7.7±1.5 cm and this dropped significantly to 1.4±1.7 cm on a stable dose of methadone (PCONCLUSION: Methadone at relatively low doses seems to be useful in the treatment of neuropathic pain.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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