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Licensed Methadone - New Addition To Pain Relief Protocols

Author: Eurovet
Posted: Friday 2nd September, 2011. 10:24:30

The first EU authorised methadone is now available in the UK as Comfortan® an injectable solution for use in dogs.



While methadone may seem an unfamiliar analgesic choice for some vets in practice, that is about to change very quickly. Ruth Vernon Technical Services Manager at Eurovet says that prior to the launch of Comfortan® reports show that usage of methadone to manage pain in animals is much higher than previously thought, “We have become aware that many practices are using methadone routinely for orthopaedic procedures and that several specialists use it in preference to any other analgesic where rapid onset of action and profound analgesia is important. This opioid provides vets with an animal analgesic with very rapid onset of action: exerting an effect in just 10 minutes of intravenous administration and 15 minutes of intramuscular administration. Comfortan® is licensed both as an analgesic and as a premed in combination with a neuroleptic drug. As a full ? opioid agonist, Comfortan® results in very effective pain relief, particularly when used for moderate to severe pain. Comfortan® provides pain relief for approximately four hours and can be re-dosed to achieve the desired level and duration of pain relief.”

Ruth Vernon is anticipating high demand for Comfortan® from launch, “Comfortan® enables many more patients to be given methadone immediately to control their acute pain without their vets having to go through lengthy protocols involved in using products off-licence, so we think that more vets are about to become convinced of the benefits. Comfortan® is licensed for veterinary use and it offers the convenience of a 10 ml vial with a shelf life of 28 days. Those who have not used methadone before, or indeed anyone with a query about storage or monitoring, can source all the information and advice they need by contacting us at Eurovet Animal Health.”

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