Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34035631›Full record

ArticleIndian journal of palliative care

The Use of Methadone in Pediatric Cancer Pain - A Retrospective Study from a Governmental Cancer Center in India.

Gayatri Palat, Charlotte Algotsson, Spandana Rayala, Vikranth Haridass, Jayalatha Nethagani, Vineela Rapelli, Maria Gebre Medhin, Eva Brun, Mikael Segerlantz

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Indian journal of palliative care. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.

Gayatri PalatDepartment of Palliative Access (PAX) Program, MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Charlotte AlgotssonDepartment of Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Spandana RayalaDepartment of Pediatric Palliative Care, MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Vikranth HaridassDepartment of Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society, MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Jayalatha NethaganiDepartment of Radiology, MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Vineela RapelliDepartment of Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society, MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Maria Gebre MedhinDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Oncology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Eva BrunDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Oncology and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Mikael SegerlantzDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Oncology and Pathology, Institute for Palliative Care, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Lund University · SEMNJ Institute Of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe management of cancer-related pain relies on access to opioids. When regular opioids are not tolerated, or are insufficient, methadone is an affordable and effective analgesic.

aimThe aim of the project was to describe the pattern of use and clinical experience of methadone in pediatric cancer pain at a governmental cancer hospital in Hyderabad, one of the four Indian cancer centers with permission to prescribe methadone.

methodsThis was a retrospective study of medical records of all children, under the age of 18, who had been prescribed methadone from September 9, 2017, to November 19, 2019. Data on analgesic effect, prior and concomitant analgesic treatment, opioid side effects, and the handling of methadone were analyzed.

resultsA total of 11 children were identified and studied. Methadone was introduced mainly when pain was uncontrolled by regular opioids. Initial daily doses ranged from 1 to 15 mg. The duration of treatment ranged from 7 to 307, with a median of 50 days in the nine patients where treatment exceeded one single dosage. Good analgesic effect was reported in 5/9 children, unchanged from previous analgesic treatment in three patients and without any effect in one child. No severe side effects were reported.

conclusionLow-dose methadone in the treatment of pediatric cancer pain at a low-resource cancer center was safe and well tolerated by the patients, with long treatment durations. It was safely managed, administered with single to double daily dosages, hence easy for patients and family to handle, and an affordable treatment option.

Indexed as

Cancermethadoneopioidpainpalliative carepediatric

Identifiers

PMID34035631
PMCPMC8121219
OpenAlexW3129645510

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.