KADIAN Improves Fibromyalgia Pain

At the 25th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society, two supplemental analyses were presented indicating that the drug Kadian improved pain scores and pain symptoms in arthritis and fibromyalgia (FM) patients. It is important to note that Kadian is an opioid and a Schedule II controlled substance.

In a press release, study investigator Bruce Nicholson, MD, Director, Pain Specialists of Greater Lehigh Valley, Inc. said, “Opioid use in this patient population may be considered after first-line treatment has failed and these data further support this conclusion. Kadian demonstrated efficacy and safety in these patient groups.”

In the study involving FM patients, the patients taking Kadian reported a 24 percent improvement in pain scores and a 15 percent improvement in sleep scores. It was noted that the FM patients initially reported lower scores in their overall quality-of-life (QoL) scales than those with other types of non-malignant pain, but by week four both patient groups showed similar improvements in QoL. The most common side effects were constipation and nausea.

As with other oral opioid analgesics, there can be serious adverse reactions associated with Kadian including: respiratory depression, respiratory arrest, circulatory depression, cardiac arrest, hypotension, and/or shock.

There are two extremely serious warnings associated with Kadian:

1. Kadian capsules must be swallowed whole and are not to be chewed, dissolved or crushed.
2. Patients must not consume alcoholic beverages while on Kadian therapy.

Ignoring either of these warnings can lead to the release of a potentially fatal dose of morphine.

Source: PR Newswire