Hydrocodone/acetaminophen and tramadol chlorhydrate combination tablets for the management of chronic cancer pain: a double-blind comparative trial.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare the analgesic efficacy and tolerability of opioids hydrocodone and tramadol in the relief of cancer pain. METHODS: One hundred and eighteen patients with chronic cancer pain participated in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Sixty-two patients received hydrocodone and 56 patients received tramadol. RESULTS: Hydrocodone/acetaminophen was effective in relieving pain in 56.5% of the patients at the starting dose of 25 mg/2500 mg/d. An additional 14.5% of the patients responded to a double dose, and the remaining 29% of patients did not experience any pain relief from hydrocodone administration. One dose of tramadol at 200 mg/d produced pain relief in 62% of the patients and alleviated pain in another 11% of patients at a dose of 400 mg/d, and remaining 27% of patients did not experience pain relief from tramadol. No significant statistical difference in the analgesic efficacy of tramadol clorhydrate and hydrocodone/acetaminophen was found. The groups differed significantly in the incidence of side effects like nausea (P=0.03; relative risk (RR), 1.69; confidence interval (IC) 95%, 1.03-2.77), vomiting (P=0.02; RR, 2.21; IC 95%, 1.14-4.32), dizziness (P=0.03; RR, 2.12; IC 95%, 1.17-3.86), loss of appetite (P=0.02; RR, 3.27; IC 95%, 1.12-9.55) and weakness (P=0.019; RR, 7.75; IC 95%, 0.98-61.05). CONCLUSIONS: There was no superior analgesic efficacy with the administration of hydrocodone/acetaminophen when compared to patients receiving tramadol in the relief of cancer pain. Tramadol produced more mild side effects than hydrocodone.

Codeine/acetaminophen and hydrocodone/acetaminophen combination tablets for the management of chronic cancer pain in adults: a 23-day, prospective, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study.

BACKGROUND: Analgesics are an essential component of the treatment of cancer-associated pain. Pharmacologic treatment is usually begun with nonopioid analgesics, most frequently acetaminophen. If pain relief is not achieved, the so-called "weak" opioids, such as codeine and hydrocodone, may be used in combination with acetaminophen. Adverse effects (AEs) of the opioids include constipation, somnolence, nausea, and vomiting. Based on the results of a literature search, data comparing the effects of the opioids are lacking. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the analgesic efficacy and tolerability of codeine phosphate versus hydrocodone bitartrate in combination with acetaminophen in the relief of cancer-related pain. METHODS: This 23-day, prospective, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study was conducted at 3 Colombian centers: University Libre, Social Security Institute, and General Hospital of Medellín, Cali, Colombia. Outpatients with cancer were eligible for the study if they were aged >-18 years and had chronic (duration, >/= 3 months) moderate to severe cancer-related pain (score on 10-cm visual analog scale [VAS], > 3 cm [moderate]; score on a 4-point verbal pain-intensity scale, > 1 [moderate]). Eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive 1 tablet of codeine/acetaminophen (C/A) 30/500 mg or hydrocodone/acetaminophen (H/A) 5/500 mg PO q4h (total daily doses, 150/2500 and 25/2500 mg, respectively) for 23 days. In both groups, if pain intensity was rated as > 3 on the VAS at week 1 or 2, the dosage was doubled. The primary end point was the proportion of patients who achieved pain relief (defined as a score of > 1 on a 5-point verbal rating scale [VRS] (0 = none; 1 = a little; 2 = some; 3 = a lot; and 4 = complete) on study days 1 and 2 and weeks 1, 2, and 3. The secondary end point was the proportion of patients in whom pain was decreased (VAS score, <- 3 cm). AEs were self-reported on a 4-point VRS (0 = absent; 1 = mild; 2 = moderate; and 3 = severe). RESULTS: Of the 121 patients who participated, 59 received C/A and 62 received H/A. Of the total number of cases, 59% were aged 60 to 89 years, and 55% were men. At baseline, 88% of the patients described their pain intensity as moderate; 12%, severe. Of the patients who received C/A, 58% responded to the initial dosage of 150/2500 mg/d, and 8% of the patients responded to the double dosage; 34% did not experience pain relief. In patients with H/A, pain was reported as absent or mild in 56% of patients at the starting dosage of 25/2500 mg/d; an additional 15% of the patients responded to the double dosage; the remaining 29% of patients did not experience any pain relief. None of the between-group differences in response rates were significant. The most common AEs in the C/A and H/A groups were constipation (36% and 29%, respectively), dizziness (24% and 19%), vomiting (24% and 16%), and dry mouth (15% and 18%), with no significant differences between groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, efficacy and tolerability were comparable between C/A and H/A over 23 days of treatment in these patients with moderate or severe, chronic, cancer-related pain.

Incidence of weak opioids adverse events in the management of cancer pain: a double-blind comparative trial.

With the objective of comparing incidence of adverse events of the opioids codeine, hydrocodone, and tramadol in the relief of cancer pain, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in which patients with cancer were randomly assigned according to a computer-generated schedule to receive one of the three opioids. Of the 177 patients who participated, 62 patients received hydrocodone, 59 patients received codeine, and 56 patients received tramadol. The pain experienced by the participants originated most frequently from the stomach, breast, or prostate gland and was classified as either somatic (33%), visceral (52%), mixed (6%), or neuropathic (9%). At the first visit, 60% of the patients described their pain intensity as moderate (4-6/10), with the remaining 40% of the patients describing their pain as severe (7-10/10). The symptoms most associated with pain were weakness, insomnia. and anorexia. In 77% of the total number of cases, the patient was aware of his/her diagnosis prior to admittance to the palliative care unit. Of the total number of cases, 57% fell in the age range of 60-89 years old and 50% of the participants were female. No significant statistical difference in the analgesic efficacy of the three opioids was found (p: 0.69; chi(2): 0.73). Use of tramadol produced higher rates of adverse events than codeine and hydrocodone: vomiting, dizziness, loss of appetite, and weakness (p < 0.05).

Tratamiento farmacológico del dolor en pacientes con cáncer: [revisión] / Pharmacological treatment of patients with cancer pain: [review]

La Organización Mundial de la Salud define el cuidado paliativo como el cuidado total y activo en aquellos pacientes que no responden a un tratamiento curativo. El control del dolor, otros síntomas y los problemas psicológicos, sociales y espirituales son de fundamental importancia. La meta del cuidado paliativo es brindar la mejor calidad de vida a los pacientes y a sus familias. En el cuidado paliativo es necesario el manejo multidisciplinario. Nuevas estrategias como rotación de opioides y sus diferentes vías de administración pueden ofrecer analgesia con pocos efectos adversos.

The World Health Organisation defines palliative care as the active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment. Control of pain, of other symptoms, and of psychological, social and spiritual problems, is paramount. The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families. Palliative care is necessarily multidisciplinary. New strategies such as the switching opioids and/or their route of administration may offer improved analgesia with fewer adverse effects, thus providing therapeutic alternatives for the clinical community.

Epidemiología del dengue en Palmira Valle, Colombia 2001-2004 / Dengue in Palmira-Vallle (Colombia) 2001-2004. An epidemiological

El dengue es una enfermedad viral, de zonas tropicales y subtropicales, transmitida por mosquitos. Su amplia gama de manifestaciones clínicas, se ha agrupado en tres formas específicas con diversos niveles de gravedad: dengue clásico, dengue hemorrágico y síndrome de choque por dengue

Determinación de la eficacia analgésica de los bloqueos del ganglio estrellado en el alivio del dolor mediado por el sistema nervioso simpático, en pacientes con síndrome doloroso regional complejo del miembro superior / Determination of the analgesic effectiveness of the blockades of the ganglion shattered in the relief of the pain mediated by the nice nervous system, in patient with syndrome painful regional complex of the superior memb

A pesar de que el bloqueo del ganglio estrellado (BGE) es una tecnica que se realiza desde hace aproximadamente un siglo, en los últimos años empieza a aparecer una serie de publicaciones que pone en duda su eficacia para el control del dolor en pacientes con síndrome doloroso regional complejo (SDRC). Las teorías actuales apuntan a que el dolor de estos pacientes tiene diferentes mecanismos fisiopatológicos y que no siempre son mediados por el sistema nervioso simpático, como se consideraba hasta hace algunos años. Sin embargo, los estudios que ponen en duda la eficacia de estos bloqueos, no diferenciaron entre el dolor mediado por el sistema nervioso simpático y el de otras etiologías, además de que incurrieron en errores metodológicos. Durante el período 2002 y 2004 se incluyó un total de 82 pacientes portadores de dolor mediado por el simpático. Estos pacientes se asignaron en forma aleatoria a un grupo, control que recibió tratamiento farmacológico más fisioterapia y un grupo de intervención que tomó el mismo tratamiento anterior más una serie de hasta cinco bloqueos del ganglio estrellado. Se realizó un análisis de sobrevida en el que se encontró que en un periodo de dos meses, 15 pacientes del grupo control y 8 del de intervención habían recaído, siendo estas diferencias estadísticamente significativas...