Articles: opioid.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Mar 2018
ReviewMethadone as first line opioid in cancer pain management: a systematic review.
The objective of this review was to assess the existent evidence for the use of methadone as a first-line therapy in cancer pain management. ⋯ Available data are not sufficient to draw net conclusion. However, open-label and controlled studies have shown that methadone may be effective as first-line drug in the management of cancer pain, providing analgesia and adverse effect profiles similar to those produced by other opioids. The finding that methadone doses tend to remain stable suggests that metabolic characteristics and extraopioid analgesic effects, as its well antihyperalgesic properties may be interesting potential advantages. Further studies should provide information regarding the long-term use of methadone or the need to switch from methadone to other opioids when a loss of analgesic response occurs.
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Opioids are commonly used for burn analgesia, but no comprehensive reviews have been published on such use. We aimed to assess the literature regarding the effectiveness and side effects of opioids both in adult and pediatric burn patients. We conducted a systematic search of the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases. ⋯ Intranasal fentanyl (INF) was equivalent to oral morphine in burn wound care both in adult and pediatric patients. OTFC and INF could be considered as viable non-invasive analgesic alternatives to oral opioids for procedural burn pain. However, the level of evidence still seems quite uncertain because of the limited sample size.
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Take-home naloxone can prevent death from heroin/opioid overdose, but pre-provision is difficult because naloxone is usually given by injection. Non-injectable alternatives, including naloxone nasal sprays, are currently being developed. To be effective, the intranasal (i.n.) spray dose must be adequate but not excessive, and early absorption must be comparable to intramuscular (i.m.) injection. We report on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of a specially produced concentrated novel nasal spray. The specific aims were to: (1) estimate PK profiles of i.n. naloxone, (2) compare early systemic exposure with i.n. versus i.m. naloxone and (3) estimate i.n. bioavailability. ⋯ Concentrated 2 mg intranasal naloxone is well-absorbed and provides early exposure comparable to 0.4 mg intramuscular naloxone, following the 0.4 mg intramuscular curve closely in the first 10 minutes post-dosing and maintaining blood levels above twice the intramuscular reference for the next 2 hours.