Open AccessThe Adequateness of Methadone for Japanese Terminal Cancer Patients Can Be Determined Earlier than 7 Days: A Preliminary Retrospective Study
Author(s) -
Miho Takemura,
Kazuyuki Niki,
Yoshiaki Okamoto,
Yoshinobu Matsuda,
Masao Ueda,
Etsuko Uejima
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
jma journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2433-3298
pISSN - 2433-328X
DOI - 10.31662/jmaj.2019-0039
Subject(s) - methadone , medicine , adverse effect , cancer pain , anesthesia , analgesic , terminal cancer , incidence (geometry) , cancer , physics , optics
The Japanese packaging instructions for methadone prohibit dose escalation within 7 days of administration initiation as this may result in overdose and subsequent adverse events. However, for terminal cancer patients, evaluation of the effects of methadone may be desirable within 7 days because they have limited prognoses. We aimed to determine the possibility of estimating the adequateness of methadone earlier than the 7th day by investigating the onset timing of analgesic effects and adverse events of methadone in Japanese terminal cancer patients.