• Uwe Richter, Susanne Waldmann-Rex, and Ute Lehmann.
• Palliativmedizin. Med. Versorgungszentrum Spez. Schmerztherapie und Palliativmedizin am DRK Krankenhaus, Chemnitz-Rabenstein, Deutschland.
• Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. 2015 Jun 1; 127 (11-12): 477-87.

Study ObjectiveThis subgroup analysis of a non-interventional study involving general practitioners and internists investigated the administration of tapentadol PR (prolonged release) in patients with widely-utilized tramadol pretreatment in routine clinical practice in Germany.MethodsData of all patients in the study cohort who had tramadol as the only opioid in their previous therapy were included in the analysis (n = 685); among them especially the 99 patients with tramadol dosages exceeding 300 mg/d were focused. Data collection during the 3-month observation period included previous and concomitant analgesic treatment, tapentadol PR dosage, pain intensity, sleep and quality of life parameters, and tolerability of tapentadol PR.ResultsBack pain was the most common cause of pain (n = 86/99), other pain diagnoses were (partly additionally) recorded in 68 cases. A mixed type of pain dominated. The previous tramadol therapy was usually combined with non-opioids (n = 74), co-analgesics (n = 44) and analgesic rescue medication (n = 35). Tapentadol PR therapy reduced the mean initial pain intensity of 7.3 ± 1.5 to 3.1 ± 1.8 points (NRS-11, 11-point pain scale, n = 96) at the end of observation, using an average dosage of 218.7 mg/d. Tapentadol PR was finally applied as the sole analgesic in 32/95 patients. 69/96 patients achieved a clinically meaningful pain relief of at least 50 %, while 63 patients gained a pain reduction of ≥ 4 NRS-points. 89/95 patients reached or exceeded their additional individual treatment goal. This was accompanied by a significant decrease in pain-related impairments of daily activities and an improvement in quality of life with an overall good tolerability of tapentadol PR. Treatment with tapentadol PR was assessed positively by physicians and patients.ConclusionsData analysis shows a clinically relevant benefit in patients unsuccessfully pretreated with tramadol by consecutive conversion to the potent analgesic tapentadol PR.

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