title: Rifampicin in opioid-induced itching.
abstract: Pruritus is prevalent in 5-12% of palliative care patients. Rifampicin has been shown to be useful both as initial treatment and as salvage treatment after failure of other agents to control the pruritus associated with the cholestatic jaundice of malignancy. We report the case of a 65-year-old woman who complained of severe pruritus after morphine treatment. The use of rifampicin 300 mg twice a day by the i.v. route was successful, and after opioid switching it was no longer necessary to maintain rifampicin in the therapeutic regimen. Controlled clinical trials are warranted to confirm this preliminary observation.
authors.affiliation: Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, La Maddalena Clinic for Cancer, Palermo, Italy. sebast.merc@tiscalinet.it
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mercadante
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Villari
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fulfaro
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D011537:Pruritus / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012293:Rifampin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D009020:Morphine; D012293:Rifampin