Effects of smoking and body mass index on the exposure of fentanyl in patients with cancer.
Kuip EJM, Oldenmenger WH, Thijs-Visser MF, de Bruijn P, Oosten AW, Oomen-de Hoop E, Koolen SLW, Van der Rijt CCD, Mathijssen RHJ.
PLoS One. 2018 Jun 8;13(6):e0198289
A prospective single-centre pharmacokinetic study examined the effect of smoking and body mass index (BMI) in cancer patients on a stable dose of transdermal fentanyl patch. Eighty-eight patients with a median age of 59.5 years completed this; 27 patients were smokers; 20 patients had a BMI < 20 kg/m2, 41 patients had BMI between 20-25 kg/m2 and 27 patients had a BMI > 25 kg/m2. The normalized plasma concentrations of fentanyl were 27.7% higher in non-smokers than smokers, although this was not statistically significant (p = 0.32). BMI did not affect the plasma concentration of fentanyl. The authors report that the inter-individual variation in plasma fentanyl levels was larger than anticipated and therefore studies with larger numbers are needed.
Composed by Elaine Boland.