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Methadone and Opioid Rotation

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Handbook of Methadone Prescribing and Buprenorphine Therapy

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Abstract

Opioid rotation entails the change from one opioid to another with the objective of recovering analgesic efficacy that may have been lost due to the development of tolerance over time. This is a common practice and for that reason it is useful to be familiar with some basic principles related to this strategy. Although opioid rotation for most opioids is relatively straightforward, the rotation to methadone has peculiarities that are related to its unique pharmacokinetics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, Beth Israel Medical Center, 10 Union Square East, Suite 2Q-2R, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Helena Knotkova PhD & Ricardo A. Cruciani MD, PhD

  2. Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Helena Knotkova PhD & Ricardo A. Cruciani MD, PhD

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Ricardo A. Cruciani MD, PhD

  4. Pain Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Utah, School of Medicine, 615 Arapeen Drive, Suite 200, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA

    Perry G. Fine MD

Authors
  1. Helena Knotkova PhD
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  2. Ricardo A. Cruciani MD, PhD
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  3. Perry G. Fine MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Perry G. Fine MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept of Pain Med and Palliative Care, Beth Israel Medical Center, Union Square East 10, New York, 10003, New York, USA

    Ricardo A. Cruciani

  2. , Dept of Pain Mgmt and Palliative Care, Beth Israel Medical Center, East 17th Street 350, New York, 10003, New York, USA

    Helena Knotkova

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Knotkova, H., Cruciani, R.A., Fine, P.G. (2013). Methadone and Opioid Rotation. In: Cruciani, R., Knotkova, H. (eds) Handbook of Methadone Prescribing and Buprenorphine Therapy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6974-2_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6974-2_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6973-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6974-2

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