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Article: Methadone is complex choice for managing pain.(THE PSYCHIATRIST'S TOOLBOX)
- Article from:
- Clinical Psychiatry News
- Article date:
- June 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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TAMPA -- Methadone is an excellent choice for pain management when the prescribing complexities are understood, said two experts at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association.
"While it's probably the best opioid analgesic out there, it's also probably the most dangerous," said Dr. Jane E. Loitman, who is the medical director for the palliative care service at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
Methadone, a synthetic opioid that is available in the United States as a racemic mixture of two isomers, has several advantages over other opioid analgesics.
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