A randomized, crossover evaluation of methylphenidate in cancer patients receiving strong narcotics

✍ Scribed by Mary B. Wilwerding; Charles L. Loprinzi; James A. Mailliard; Judith R. O'Fallon; Angela W. Miser; Carol Haelst; Debra L. Barton; John F. Foley; Laurie M. Athmann

• Book ID: 104742049
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 357 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0941-4355
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00365854

✦ Synopsis

Sedation may be a doselimiting side-effect of opioid therapy in some cancer patients. This study was designed to evaluate further the use of the psychostimulant, methylphenidate, an agent that has been reported to counteract opioid-induced sedation, in patients with cancer-related pain. Pa-tients receiving a stable dose of an opioid for cancer-related pain were recruited for this randomized, double-blind, crossover clinical trial. In addition to their regular dose of narcotics, they received 5 days of methylphenidate followed by 5 days of placebo, or vice versa. Our data did not definitively demonstrate any statistically significant benefit for methylphenidate, but did suggest that this drug could mildly decrease narcotic-induced drowsiness and could increase night-time sleep. These data, in conjunction with other published data, suggest that methylphenidate can counteract narcotic-induced daytime sedation to a limited degree.