When "enough" is not enough: new perspectives on optimal methadone maintenance dose.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_900CFA9AA758
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Publication sub-type
Review (review): journal as complete as possible of one specific subject, written based on exhaustive analyses from published work.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
When "enough" is not enough: new perspectives on optimal methadone maintenance dose.
Journal
Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, New York
Author(s)
Leavitt S.B., Shinderman M., Maxwell S., Eap C.B., Paris P.
ISSN
0027-2507 (Print)
ISSN-L
0027-2507
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2000
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
67
Number
5-6
Pages
404-411
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article ; Review
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
Some methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programs prescribe inadequate daily methadone doses. Patients complain of withdrawal symptoms and continue illicit opioid use, yet practitioners are reluctant to increase doses above certain arbitrary thresholds. Serum methadone levels (SMLs) may guide practitioners dosing decisions, especially for those patients who have low SMLs despite higher methadone doses. Such variation is due in part to the complexities of methadone metabolism. The medication itself is a racemic (50:50) mixture of 2 enantiomers: an active "R" form and an essentially inactive "S" form. Methadone is metabolized primarily in the liver, by up to five cytochrome P450 isoforms, and individual differences in enzyme activity help explain wide ranges of active R-enantiomer concentrations in patients given identical doses of racemic methadone. Most clinical research studies have used methadone doses of less than 100 mg/day [d] and have not reported corresponding SMLs. New research suggests that doses ranging from 120 mg/d to more than 700 mg/d, with correspondingly higher SMLs, may be optimal for many patients. Each patient presents a unique clinical challenge, and there is no way of prescribing a single best methadone dose to achieve a specific blood level as a "gold standard" for all patients. Clinical signs and patient-reported symptoms of abstinence syndrome, and continuing illicit opioid use, are effective indicators of dose inadequacy. There does not appear to be a maximum daily dose limit when determining what is adequately "enough" methadone in MMT.
Keywords
Adult, Analgesics, Opioid/administration & dosage, Analgesics, Opioid/pharmacokinetics, Biotransformation, Drug Monitoring, Female, Half-Life, Humans, Male, Methadone/administration & dosage, Methadone/pharmacokinetics, Opioid-Related Disorders/drug therapy, Substance Withdrawal Syndrome/prevention & control
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
10/03/2008 11:54
Last modification date
20/08/2019 15:53
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