Resumen de Transdermal fentanyl treatment in opioid-naïve cancer patients

Manuel Gonzalez Barón, Amalio Ordóñez Gallego, Jaime Feliu Batlle, E. Espinosa Arranz, Javier de Castro Carpeño, P. Zamora Auñon, Beatriz Martínez, Enrique Casado Sáenz

• To reach faster pain control in cancer patients we have designed an observational study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of using different initial doses of transdermal fentanyl (fentanyl-TTS) based on initial pain intensity in opioid-naïve cancer patients. Initial doses of fentanyl-TTS were decided according to the baseline visual analogue scale (VAS): 25 µg/h if VAS ¿ 6 (24 patients), 50 µg/h if VAS > 6 (26 patients).

  Vas records at day 4 were <3 in 79% and 80% of the patients, for the lower and higher dose groups, respectively. Side effects (constipation, nausea, drowsiness) were minor and occurred in a small percentage of patients.

  Further studies are needed to confirm these results.