Sedation by Propofol for Painful Care Procedures at the End of Life: A Pilot Study. PROPOPAL 1.

BACKGROUND: At the end of life, patients may feel refractory pain during care procedures although they receive appropriate analgesia. They can benefit from a short-term sedation. Propofol is used for procedural sedation in emergency or reanimation departments. It may be adapted in a palliative care unit. OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to verify whether propofol could allow us to administer care without causing major pain to patients with refractory pain at the end of life. DESIGN: We conducted an open, prospective, and uncontrolled pilot study. SETTING/SUBJECTS: The study was conducted in one palliative care center in France. The subjects were patients with an estimated prognosis less than three months who experienced pain during care procedures, although they receive appropriate analgesia. RESULTS: Ten patients were included. Care was delivered with no major pain for 9 patients out of 10. The average duration of induction to reach deep sedation was 4 minutes (2-8) and of care procedures was 13 minutes (7-32). On average, the patient woke up 11.5 minutes after we stopped injecting propofol (7-18). Only one patient experienced a significant adverse effect caused by propofol, but it did not have any harmful consequence except the interruption of care procedures. CONCLUSION: Transitory sedation using propofol for terminally ill patients hospitalized in a palliative care unit can offer optimal comfort during painful care procedures without significant complications. Patients woke up quickly. Further studies will have to be conducted to verify these initial results and make sure there are no major drawbacks.

Methadone rotation for cancer patients with refractory pain in a palliative care unit: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Methadone has been reported to be as effective as morphine for cancer pain management. It is commonly used as an alternative opioid in case of insufficient relief. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess efficacy and tolerance of opioid rotation to methadone for refractory cancer pain management in palliative care unit (PCU) inpatients. METHODS: All the patients undergoing opioid rotation to methadone from 2008 to 2011 in two PCUs (Lyon and Nice, France) were included. Pain assessments were undertaken on day 0 (D0), day 3 (D3), day 7 (D7), and day 14 (D14) using a visual analogue scale (VAS; 0-10) and the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) scale for neuropathic pain. Patients reported pain relief using a 4-point Likert scale (1=no relief; 4=important relief ). RESULTS: Nineteen patients (7 females) with a median age of 55 (Q1-Q3; 44-58) underwent methadone rotation. The most common type of cancer was gastrointestinal. Seventeen patients had a diagnosis of mixed pain syndromes. Morphine equivalent daily dose (MEDD) prior to switching was 480 mg (Q1-Q3; 100-1021), and at least two nonmethadone opioid rotations had already been done for 13 patients. Between D0 and D7, the VAS score decreased by 4 points (p<0.001). The DN4 score became negative on D7 for 11 of 17 patients (65%). On D7, 16 of 18 patients (89%) expressed moderate to greater than moderate pain relief. Methadone was discontinued in one patient on D7 because it was deemed ineffective and for 8 patients, who were unable to take oral drugs, it was discontinued after D14. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that methadone is effective and well tolerated for refractory cancer pain.