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Hindi Case Report, J Forensic Toxicol Pharmacol Vol: 2 Issue: 1
Methadone Related Deaths: Identifying the Vulnerable Patients
| Mariarosaria Aromatario, Paola Antonella Fiore, Simone Cappelletti, Edoardo Bottoni and Costantino Ciallella* | |
| Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic Medicine and Orthopaedic Sciences “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy | |
| Corresponding author : Costantino Ciallella Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic Medicine and Orthopaedic Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena, 336–00161 Rome, Italy Tel: 00390649912618; Fax: 0039064455335 E-mail: costantino.ciallella@uniroma1.it |
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| Received: March 29, 2012 Accepted: June 21, 2013 Published: June 28, 2013 | |
| Citation: Aromatario M, Fiore PA, Cappelletti S, Bottoni E, Ciallella C (2013) Methadone Related Deaths: Identifying the Vulnerable Patients. J Forensic Toxicol Pharmacol 2:1. doi:10.4172/2325-9841.1000105 |
Abstract
Methadone Related Deaths: Identifying The Vulnerable Patients
Methadone has been used in opioid dependence treatment since the 1960s and is now prescribed also as a chronic pain treatment. Even though its effectiveness has been worldwide assessed, literature reports several cases of death associated with the administration of this drug. Risk factors are still uncertain and the frequent combination with other substances of abuse makes it even more difficult to determine the exact role of methadone in the pathogenesis of fatalities. In this paper the authors present the autopsy findings in a subset of deaths characterized by blood being positive for the methadone only at a therapeutic dose in order to point out those pre-existent pathologic conditions that seem to increase the risk of death in methadone treatment.
