Efficacy and safety of tramadol/acetaminophen in the treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients

Authors

• Ming-Lin Ho, Division of Chest, Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• Chih-Yuan Chung, Division of Chest, Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• Chuan-Cheng Wang, Division of Chest, Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• Hsuan-Yu Lin, Division of Chest, Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• Nicholas C. Hsu, Division of Chest, Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• Cheng-Shyong Chang, Division of Chest, Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the analgesic efficacy and safety of tramadol 37.5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg combination tablet, for the treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients. METHODS: This study was conducted at Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan from January 2006 to February 2007. The single-center and open-label study enrolled 59 opioid-treated cancer patients with at least moderate breakthrough pain (visual analog scale [VAS] score >/=40mm on a 100-mm scale). The efficacy measures included VAS scores and adverse effect assessment 10, 30, and 60 minutes after the administration of tramadol/acetaminophen. Visual analog scale score at time of pain relief was reported. RESULTS: The mean VAS score when the breakthrough pain episode began (0 minute) was 77.8. Analysis showed significant better mean pain VAS scores at 10, 30, and 60 minutes after the administration of tramadol/acetaminophen (p

Article Type

Research Article

First Page

1315

Last Page

1319

Recommended Citation

Ho, Ming-Lin; Chung, Chih-Yuan; Wang, Chuan-Cheng; Lin, Hsuan-Yu; Hsu, Nicholas C.; and Chang, Cheng-Shyong (2010) "Efficacy and safety of tramadol/acetaminophen in the treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients," Saudi Medical Journal: Vol. 31: Iss. 12, Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15537/1658-3175.5187