Morphine versus methadone in the pain treatment of advanced cancer patients followed up at home

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic and adverse effects and the doses of metha-done in comparison to morphine. Patients and Methods: A prospective randomized study was performed in a sample of 40 patients with advanced cancer who required strong opioids for their pain management. Patients were treated with sus-tained-release morphine or methadone in doses titrated against the effect administered two or three times daily according to clinical need. Opioid doses, adjuvant medi-cations, symptoms associated with opioid therapy, pain intensity, and pain mechanisms were recorded. The opioid escalation indices in percentage (OEI%) and milli-grams (OElmg) were calculated. The effective analgesic score (EAS) that monitors the analgesic consumption