Dose conversion and titration with a novel, once-daily, OROS® osmotic technology, extended-release hydromorphone formulation in the treatment of chronic malignant or nonmalignant pain

The objective of this open-label, repeated-dose, single-treatment, multicenter study was to evaluate the outcomes associated with a standardized conversion from prior opioid therapy to a novel, once-daily, OROS® osmotic technology, extended-release (ER) hydromorphone formulation in an outpatient population with chronic malignant or nonmalignant pain. The study period was divided into 3 phases: the prior opioid stabilization phase (≥3 days), the conversion and titration phase (3-21 days), and the maintenance phase (14 days). Patients were evaluated at 5 visits during the study period. Analgesic efficacy was measured using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). At baseline, patients were required to have daily oral morphine equivalent requirements of ≥45 mg. Prior oral or transdermal opioid therapy was converted to single daily doses of ER hydromorphone (8, 16, 32, and 64 mg tablets) at a 5:1 (morphine equivalent to hydromorphone) ratio. Immediate-release (IR) hydromorphone was given as rescue medication for breakthrough pain. Among the 445 patients who enrolled, 404 received the study medication. Of these, 73 (18.1%) had chronic malignant pain and 331 (81.9%) had chronic nonmalignant pain. Dose stabilization (defined as a 3-day period during which the total daily dose of ER hydromorphone remained unchanged and ≤3 doses of IR hydromorphone per day were required) was attained by 73.8% of patients (298/404), of whom 70.1% (209/298) were stabilized with ≤2 titration steps. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) time to dose stabilization was 12.1 ± 5.7 days (range of 3 to 33 days). The mean ± SD final daily dose of ER hydromorphone was 63.4 ± 129.2 mg. The mean ± SD final daily dose of IR hydromorphone was 11.5 ± 36.4 mg, and the mean ± SD final number of daily doses of IR hydromorphone was 1.7 ± 1.3. Intent-to-treat and completer analysis demonstrated significant improvements in BPI ratings from prior opioid therapy to the end of ER hydromorphone therapy (P < 0.01 for all pairwise comparisons). Adverse events were consistent with those expected of an opioid agonist in such a patient group, affecting primarily the gastrointestinal and central nervous systems. This uncontrolled study delineates a regimen by which patients with chronic malignant or nonmalignant pain can be readily converted from prior opioid therapy and titrated to an appropriate maintenance dose of ER hydromorphone. Controlled longitudinal studies are required to further evaluate the use of ER hydromorphone in patients with discrete chronic malignant or nonmalignant pain conditions.