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[Accidental levomethadone intoxication in a palliative patient]
B Michel-Lauter1, C Maier, A Schwarzer
1Abteilung für Schmerztherapie, Klinik für Anaesthesiologie, Intensiv-, Palliativ- und Schmerzmedizin, Berufsgenossenschaftliches Universitätsklinikum Bergmannsheil Bochum GmbH, Bürkle-de-la-Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Deutschland. beate.michel-lauter@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Abstract:
Levomethadone is a strong opioid which is used rarely in the treatment of special pain syndromes in Germany. A main field for the usage of Levomethadone, which has be applied as a oral fluid, is the opioid replacement therapy of heroin-addicts. Due to the long plasma half life and its high inter-individual variability, the application implies a risk of cumulation leading to an overdosage. It is not recommended to use a fixed equianalgesic formula for the dosage conversion from other opioids. The conversion starts with a low start dose, an individual titration follows. In this case-report, the difficulty of cumulation, inaccurate drug dispensary and the characteristic of dosage calculation of levomethadone is discussed.
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