Factors influencing the prescribed dose of opioid analgesics in cancer patients.

Factors influencing the prescribed dose of opioid analgesics in cancer patients. J Opioid Manag. 2020 Jul/Aug;16(4):247-252 Authors: Hashimoto M, Aogaki K, Numata C, Moriwaki K, Matsuda Y, Ishii R, Tanaka I, Okamoto Y Abstract The dose of opioids prescribed for cancer pain does not always correlate with the actual pain severity. However, there is little evidence to explain this observation. In the present study, we sought to determine factors that influence the dose of opioid analgesics. A total of 227 patients who were administered opioids between August 2012 and May 2016 and later expired within the Department of Palliative Care at Ashiya Municipal Hospital were included, and the following variables were examined: age, sex, type of cancer, Verbal Rating Scale before and after the administration of the maximum pre-scribed dose of opioids, type of opioids and route of administration, blood test results, pain severity, and use of adju-vants. Data were analyzed using step-wise multiple linear regression. Median of the maximum prescribed dose of opioids, expressed in oral morphine equivalent, was 68.6, 60.0, and 39.2 mg for patients aged <65, 65-74, and ≥75 years, respectively. Step-wise multiple linear regression analysis further demonstrated that an increase in age by 1 year decreased the maximum prescribed dose of opioids by 0.98-fold (p = 0.006). Other factors that influenced the maximum prescribed dose of opioids included the ...
Source: Journal of Opioid Management - Category: Addiction Tags: J Opioid Manag Source Type: research