Extended-release (ER) or long-acting (LA) opioids are increasingly used for management
of chronic pain. Approximately 3.8 million patients receive prescriptions for ER/LA
opioids in the US.1 The number of prescriptions dispensed for ER/LA has more than
doubled over the past decade, increasing from 9.3 million in 2000 to 22.9 million
in 2009. Consequently, in 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed
a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy for ER/LA opioids.2
Opioids are characterized by a high interindividual variability in response, which
can also change in a given patient over time due to development of tolerance, progression
of the underlying etiology, and age; therefore, opioids cannot be approached as “one
size fits all”.3,4 It is imperative to individualize therapy for each patient with
careful monitoring and adjustments for safety and efficacy. The dosing intervals for
ER formulations are established during clinical trials; however, in clinical practice,
some patients may require more frequent dosing.
MS Contin (morphine sulfate ER), for example, is approved for every 12-hour dosing,
but the manufacturer label addresses the fact that some patients may require dosing
at 8-hour intervals.5 Similarly, fentanyl transdermal (TD Duragesic) is approved for
every 72-hour dosing, whereas the labeling states “Some patients may not achieve adequate
analgesia using this dosing interval and may require TD systems to be applied every
48 hours rather than every 72 hours”.6 Unlike the aforementioned agents, OxyContin’s
FDA-approved labeling lists 12-hour dosing and does not address dosing at more frequent
intervals. The label states “patients who experience breakthrough pain may require
dosage adjustment or rescue medication”.7
In a recent article “You Want a Description of Hell?”, The LA Times implies that Purdue’s
claim on OxyContin (oxycodone controlled release) relieving pain for 12 hours led
to some patients experiencing returning pain and agonizing withdrawal.8 The article
stated “Purdue has known about the problem for decades. Even before OxyContin went
on the market” and “the company has held fast to the claim of 12-hour relief, in part
to protect its revenue”. According to the code of federal regulations 202.1, pharmaceutical
companies are prohibited from promoting off-label uses for medications or advertising
statements to providers or patients that are not approved by the FDA. Due to this
regulation, it is unlawful for Purdue Pharma to promote oxycodone controlled release
(CR) for a dosing interval other than every 12 hours. The FDA cited a lack of clinical
evidence that “prescribing OxyContin for dosing more frequently than q12h is associated
with increased risk for adverse reactions”, which reinforced the 12-hour dosing interval.9
In 2004, Connecticut’s Attorney General Richard Blumenthal led a petition to revise
oxycodone CR’s black box warning to specifically warn against dosing more frequently
than every 12 hours and send corresponding letters to health care providers. The petition
proposed a revision stating “Dosing OxyContin at intervals of q8h or shorter may cause
an increase in oxycodone plasma concentrations and thereby increase the risks of side
effects such as euphoria and sedation. Proper dosing further minimizes the potential
for abuse and diversion”.10 The FDA denied the petition for lack of clinical evidence
supporting the claims and requests, and Mr Blumenthal then sued the FDA.10,11
The efficacy and tolerability of opioids may differ significantly from one patient
to another due to genetic variation, opioid receptor polymorphisms, pharmacokinetic
differences, tolerance, and presence of comorbidities.3,12 There are important pharmacogenetic
considerations with oxycodone that can affect response. Oxycodone is metabolized by
cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes with CYP3A4 as the major pathway to noroxycodone (47%)
and by CYP2D6 to oxymorphone (11%).7,13 Although the activity of oxycodone is primarily
due to the parent drug, pharmacogenetic variations in enzyme activity or drug–drug
interactions could play a role in its analgesic effect. For example, a poor CYP2D6
metabolizer could have less conversion to oxymorphone and experience lower analgesic
effect. The same effect could be witnessed in a patient taking a concomitant CYP2D6
inhibitor, including antidepressants fluoxetine, paroxetine, or bupropion, where use
may coincide in chronic pain patients.
Pharmacokinetic studies in normal volunteers demonstrated that immediate release (IR)
oxycodone 5 mg q6h and oxycodone controlled release 10 mg q12h had similar troughs
of 7.4±3.8 ng/mL and 7.2±3.5 ng/mL, respectively.14 The oxycodone controlled release
10 mg q12h regimen yielded a maximum plasma concentration of 15.1±4.7 ng/mL. Theoretically,
based on Figure 1, oxycodone controlled release 10 mg q12h regimen would provide 8–10
hours above 50% maximum plasma concentration (C
max). In a multicenter survey of 660 cancer patients on oral sustained-acting opioids
(MS Contin, oxycodone controlled release), patients reported average pain relief duration
of 9.6 hours.15 This could be related to the decline in serum levels. However, it
is important to note that a therapeutic range is not available for opioids due to
variable tolerance, opioid receptor polymorphisms, pharmacogenetic differences, and
presence of comorbidities.12
When administered every 12 hours, oxycodone controlled release demonstrated biphasic
peaks and troughs within a 12-hour span and remained within the therapeutic range
at the sixth and 12th hours after a single dose.16 Comparatively, the IR liquid formulation
required repetitive dosing twice as often to maintain blood levels within the therapeutic
dosage range. The serum concentration at the end of the 12-hour dosing interval (C
min) for the oxycodone CR arm was 6.2±2.6 compared to 6.5±3.1 in the IR oxycodone
arm. The authors concluded that both regimens yielded similar peaks, troughs, and
serum fluctuations. This study demonstrates that oxycodone CR dosed every 12 hours
provides similar exposure to the IR product dosed every 6 hours, but the CR formulation
avoids a precipitous drop in serum concentrations at the sixth hour following a single
dose at steady state. In conclusion, the oxycodone CR is well positioned to be dosed
every 12 hours as initially demonstrated to and approved by the FDA in 1995. From
a practical standpoint, if a patient presented on follow-up with end-of-dose failure
measured by increased pain while maintained on oxycodone CR, the clinician has two
choices – increase the dose and continue with 12-hour intervals or titrate using an
8-hour dosage interval, which may allow less overall drug exposure between doses.
For example, a patient may be switched from oxycodone CR 40 mg PO q12h (80 mg per
day) to 30 mg PO q8h (90 mg per day), instead of raising the overall daily dose to
100 mg per day by providing two separate prescriptions for 50 mg (40 mg × one tablet
plus 10 mg × one tablet) PO q12h. Alternatively, the regimen could be changed to 45
mg (15 mg × three tablets) PO q12h for a 90 mg per day dose, but this requires many
more tablets and may increase the risk of diversion or tablet sharing.
According to oxycodone CR’s FDA-approved label, “patients who experience breakthrough
pain may require dosage adjustment or rescue medication”. This translates to using
higher doses at 12-hour intervals or supplementing with IR; however, when considering
patient uniqueness, it is plausible that neither option is optimal. Raising the dose
while maintaining a 12-hour interval will increase the area under the curve but will
also result in increased serum fluctuations causing a greater difference between the
peak and trough. Supplementing with IR oxycodone at scheduled intervals introduces
additional peaks producing additional serum fluctuations. Instead, the optimal approach
may be to administer one-third of the total daily dose every 8 hours. What are the
drawbacks of peaks and troughs? High peaks are associated with dose-related adverse
effects including sedation and potential life-threatening respiratory depression,
whereas low troughs are associated with rebound pain.17,18 Therefore, one benefit
of CR opioids is to maintain constant blood levels by minimizing peaks and troughs
exhibited by their IR opioid counterparts. There are certainly advantages to IR opioids,
particularly the lesser effect on hypoadrenal axis.19,20 Notwithstanding, the side-effect
profile, more restful sleep, and compliance are all generally superior for CR compared
to IR.21–24
In a survey of 128 patients on stable doses of oxycodone CR for 6 months, clinicians
evaluated the frequency of IR opioid use in patients on 12-hour and 8-hour dosing.25
The authors concluded that patients on 12-hour dosing were twice as likely to use
scheduled IR opioids to achieve pain relief. This creates a series of breakthrough
pain episodes and inadequately controlled pain on maintenance medication, potentially
leading to pseudoaddiction. Pseudoaddiction is an iatrogenic phenomenon due to poorly
controlled pain where patients become preoccupied with their next opioid dose.26 Such
phenomenon could be averted by maintaining constant blood levels of the medication.
The war on opioids has created an unfortunate culture where often the focus is shifted
toward political gains and flashy media coverage containing half-truths. The LA Times
referred to oxycodone CR as “a chemical cousin of heroin”, but they fail to disclose
that dextromethorphan is also “related”. Moreover, the opioid reversal agent naloxone
is just a single substituent on the tertiary amine (nitrogen) away from oxymorphone,
an oxycodone metabolite presumed to be twice the potency of oxycodone. But alas, there
is no mention of this by media muckrakers who cherry pick information to get a rise
out of readers and politicians. No journalist refers to exenatide as “lizard saliva”
or conjugated estrogen as “horse urine”. Why? Simply because opioids draw more media
buzz. There is no doubt that opioids are overprescribed, but the war on opioids is
coming at the expense of millions of patients with chronic pain syndromes requiring
opioids.
In conclusion, the evidence is available to support oxycodone CR 12-hour dosing; however,
some patients may experience end-of-dose failure with a 12-hour regimen. Allowing
every 8-hour dosing for these patients may achieve less oxycodone exposure with the
same therapeutic benefit, decrease the need for multiple prescriptions (which may
improve compliance and minimize diversion risk), decrease costs, and, most importantly,
is just plain common sense. The hoopla and rhetoric employed by media muckrakers in
The LA Times and politicians to gain favor among constituents is an attack on Big
Pharma without scientific justification to support their claims.