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Case report
Long-term analgesic pharmacotherapy in addiction to intranasal fentanyl
  1. Bartlomiej Olczak,
  2. Anna Zaforemska and
  3. Aleksandra Cialkowska-Rysz
  1. Department of Palliative Medicine, Medical University of Lodz Faculty of Medicine, Lodz, Poland
  1. Correspondence to Dr Bartlomiej Olczak, Medical University of Lodz Faculty of Medicine, Lodz 90-435, Poland; baolczak{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Objective The risk of inappropriate use of opioid drugs increases, especially the short-acting ones. The risk of addiction in patients with cancer with a relatively good prognosis is a challenge. The aim of the study is to evaluate the decision to continue therapy with a short-acting fentanyl.

Methods The study concerns a 49-year-old male patient with an advanced neuroendocrine tumour in the pre-sacral region. The research method includes the medical history and physical examination, an analysis of the patient’s medical record and a self-designed questionnaire to assess the degree of dependence on opioid drugs.

Results The analysis of the results of the survey confirmed the patient’s dependence on opioid drugs. He gave positive answers to 16 out of 19 questions in the survey.

Conclusion Despite an addiction, the improvement of life quality is of the utmost importance. Therefore, decision to continue the intranasal fentanyl therapy is justified because of toleration and a high satisfactory effect.

  • addiction
  • intranasal fentanyl
  • cancer pain
  • life quality
  • short-acting opioid

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2019-001990

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors We had a great pleasure to work and learn along our mentor- Dr Aleksandra Cialkowska-Rysz. Thank you very much.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.