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Methadone for Pain Management: A Pharmacotherapeutic Review

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Abstract

Methadone is increasingly being used for its analgesic properties. Despite the increasing popularity, many healthcare providers are not familiar with methadone’s complex pharmacology and best practices surrounding its use. The purpose of this narrative review article is to discuss the pharmacology of methadone, the evidence surrounding methadone’s use in acute pain management and both chronic cancer and non-cancer pain settings, as well as highlight pertinent safety, monitoring, and opioid rotation considerations. Methadone has a unique mechanism of action when compared with all other opioids and for this reason methadone has come to hold a niche role in the management of opioid-induced hyperalgesia and central sensitization. Understanding of the mechanisms of variability in methadone disposition and drug interactions has evolved over the years, with the latest evidence revealing that CYP 2B6 is the major determinant of methadone elimination and plays a key role in methadone-related drug interactions. From an acute pain perspective, most studies evaluating the use of intraoperative intravenous methadone have reported lower pain scores and post-operative opioid requirements. Oral methadone is predominantly used as a second-line opioid treatment for select chronic pain conditions. As a result, several oral morphine to oral methadone conversion ratios have been proposed, as have methods in which to rotate to methadone. From an efficacy standpoint, limited literature exists regarding the effectiveness of methadone in the chronic pain setting with most of the available efficacy data pertaining to methadone’s use in the treatment of cancer pain. Many of the prospective studies that exist feature low participant numbers. Few clinical trials investigating the role of methadone as an analgesic treatment are currently underway. The complicated pharmacokinetic properties of methadone and risks of harm associated with this drug highlight how critically important it is that healthcare providers understand these features before prescribing/dispensing methadone. Particular caution is required when converting patients from other opioids to methadone and for this reason only experienced healthcare providers should undertake such a task. Further randomized trials with larger sample sizes are needed to better define the effective and safe use of methadone for pain management.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the role of Brad Dishan, BSc, MLIS, (Medical Librarian, St. Joseph’s Health Care London, London, Ontario, Canada) in the literature search during preparation of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pain Management Program, St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Health Care London, London, ON, Canada

    Denise Kreutzwiser

  2. Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Western University, London Health Sciences Centre, and St. Joseph’s Health Care London, London, ON, Canada

    Qutaiba A. Tawfic

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  1. Denise Kreutzwiser
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  2. Qutaiba A. Tawfic
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Correspondence to Denise Kreutzwiser.

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Denise Kreutzwiser and Qutaiba A. Tawfic have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

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Kreutzwiser, D., Tawfic, Q.A. Methadone for Pain Management: A Pharmacotherapeutic Review. CNS Drugs 34, 827–839 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40263-020-00743-3

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