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Torsades de Pointes After Methadone Treatment

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Challenging Cases and Complication Management in Pain Medicine

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Abstract

Methadone is a synthetic opioid used to treat chronic pain and for maintenance therapy in opiate dependence. Methadone may cause QT prolongation and torsades de pointes, an arrhythmia. Several risk factors predispose patients to the development of this potentially fatal arrhythmia. Careful patient selection, mitigating risk factors, and regular monitoring are recommended to prescribers of methadone. With the increased number of methadone-related deaths, more research is needed to bridge informational gaps regarding its safety.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA

    Andrea Shashoua

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  1. Andrea Shashoua
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Correspondence to Andrea Shashoua .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Magdalena Anitescu

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Honorio T. Benzon

  3. Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA

    Mark S. Wallace

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Shashoua, A. (2018). Torsades de Pointes After Methadone Treatment. In: Anitescu, M., Benzon, H., Wallace, M. (eds) Challenging Cases and Complication Management in Pain Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60072-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60072-7_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60070-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60072-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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