A new mathematical approach to methadone conversion
Steven J. Baumrucker1★, Manar Jbara2, Richard Marc Rogers3★ Corresponding author
- 1Department of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Wellmont Health System, Kingsport, USA.
- 2Department of Internal Medicine, ETSU Quillen College of Medicine, Johnson City, USA.
- 3Department of Family Medicine, ETSU Quillen College of Medicine, Kingsport, TN, USA.
CORRESPONDENCE
Steven J. Baumrucker
Department of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Wellmont Health System, Kingsport, USA.
Received: 16-12-2015; Revised: 01-01-2016; Accepted: 30-05-2016.
Volume 7, Issue 2 · pp. 93–95 · PUBLISHED 2016 · DOI: 10.4103/0976-500X.184773
ABSTRACT
For the past 20 years, methadone has been experiencing resurgence in the palliative care community as a second-line opioid for the treatment of cancer pain. Methadone is useful for refractory pain in cancer patients or in those who could not tolerate the side effects of other opioids; its positives are well cited in recent literature including dual elimination without active metabolites, N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonism, mu and delta receptor activity, multiple routes of administration, rapid onset of action, long half-life, low cost, and fewer adverse effects. Despite the abundance of recent case reports and literature reviews demonstrating the effective use of methadone in cancer patients, there is a lack of consensus for an appropriate method for converting morphine (and by extension, other opioids) to methadone.
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Baumrucker, S. J., Jbara, M., & Rogers, R. M. (2016). A new mathematical approach to methadone conversion. Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics, 7(2), 93–95. https://doi.org/10.4103/0976-500X.184773