Оценка эффективности и безопасности трамадола и морфина в низких дозах при купировании боли у детей после проведения химиотерапии и трансплантации гемопоэтических стволовых клеток

Abstract

A sufficient subgroup of patients encounters pain syndrome in the course of cytostatic chemotherapy (ChT), either with or without hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Over this time period, severe thrombocytopenia and leucopenia may develop, thus limiting the opportunities for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). As recommended by WHO, administration of strong opioids to children is possible in moderate pain and inefficiency of NSAIDs. In this case, second step of the pain relief ladder is absent, i.e., codeine application. However, the recommendations do not exclude usage of tramadol, which is widely applied in pediatrics. Our aim was to evaluate relative safety and efficiency of tramadol and morphine in managment of moderate pain in children after HSCT and ChT. Patients and methods The study included analysis of 159 children admitted to the ICU pain management team with complaints for weak or moderate pain (form 3 to 6 points on an age-matched scale). The age of patients was from 1 to 17 years, with a median of 8 years old. All the patients did not receive opioids (were opioid naïve) within 30 days before inclusion to the study. The drugs were injected by continuous infusion at the inpatient clinic. In the first group (n=118), standard tramadol doses were administered as the 1st-line therapy (0.2 to 0.3 mg/kg/h). The patients form 2nd group (n=41) were administered low-dose morphine (0.01 to 0.019 mg/kg/h). Treatment efficiency was assessed by FLACC verbal scores, Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale, or visual analogue scale and quality of life. Statistical evaluation was performed by means of SPSS software, using a nonparametric Chi-square criterion. Results When administered tramadol as a first-line therapy, it was efficient in ca. 40.7% of cases (n=48). With low-dose morphine, the response rate proved to be 58.5% (n=24). One patient (0.8%) received tramadol when transferred to other institution. The second-line therapy (strong opioids) was administered due to lack of efficiency, or poor drug acceptability during the first-line treatment. It was observed in 53.4% of group 1 (n=63), and in 39% (n=16) of morphine-treated patients (group 2). Side effects due to tramadol administration were observed in 5.1% of cases (n=6). When administered low-dose morphine, only 1 female patient (2.4%) developed intestinal paresis which resolved after the therapy cancellation. Upon statistical evaluation, no significant differences were revealed between the groups. Conclusion Both medical drugs have shown similar efficiency and safety when applied for jugulating weak or moderate nociceptive pain after cytostatic chemotherapy and HSCT in pediatric patients.