title: A Retrospective Study on the Effectiveness of Switching to Oral Methadone for Relieving Severe Cancer-Related Neuropathic Pain and Limiting Adjuvant Analgesic Use in Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer-related neuropathic pain is resistant to treatment with multiple medications and results in reduced patient quality of life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to find a new curative to treat neuropathic pain without using adjuvant analgesics.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective study that used the FACES Pain Scale (FPS) to measure pain intensity and pain relief.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-eight inpatients who were treated with other strong opioids and who consulted the palliative care team about their pain relief.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 22 (78.6%) out of 28 patients who successfully switched to methadone from other strong opioids, such as oxycodone and fentanyl, within two weeks, the mean FPS score was significantly reduced from 4.43 to 1.86, and methadone switching either reduced the number of prescriptions or stopped them entirely in 12 out of 17 (70.5%) patients who had used adjuvant analgesics before switching to methadone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that opioid switching to oral methadone not only achieves pain relief but also curtails substantial adjuvant analgesic use.
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital , Nagoya, Japan .|2 Department of Pharmacy, Nagoya City University Hospital , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Nobuhiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Neuropharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohsawa
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Mami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onizuka
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Neuropharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Ayaka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iio
authors.affiliation: 4 Division of Respiratory Medicine, Juntendo Tokyo Koto Geriatric Medical Center , Tokyo, Japan .
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugano
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeno
authors.affiliation: 6 Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Hiromitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeyama
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital , Nagoya, Japan .|7 Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akechi
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Pharmacy, Nagoya City University Hospital , Nagoya, Japan .
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura