November 28, 2006
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory on methadone yesterday, warning that the drug may cause life-threatening side effects or death.
Methadone is most commonly used by patients who are being treated for addiction to narcotic painkillers. In recent years, methadone use and consequently methadone related deaths have increased significantly.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there were 623 methadone related deaths in 1999. That number increased almost fourfold by 2003 to an alarming 2,452 deaths.
Toxic Effects
The FDA stated that methadone use could lead to unintentional poisoning. Methadone provides relief from withdrawal pains for about four to eight hours. However, the drug can remain in the body for up to 59 hours.
Patients who take high doses of the drug or continue taking doses before previous quantities are fully flushed from the body face the risk of unintentional poisoning caused by the build up of toxic levels. Using methadone in conjunction with other medications may also increase this risk.
The agency noted that the symptoms of a methadone overdose including slow or shallow breathing and irregular heartbeat may go unnoticed by the patient. Doctors are urged to prescribe methadone cautiously and closely monitor patients.
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