5HT3 Antagonists to Treat Opioid Withdrawal and to Prevent the Progression of Physical Dependence

NCT ID: NCT01549652

Last Updated: 2019-01-07

Study Results

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

133 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2011-04-30

Study Completion Date

2016-10-31

Brief Summary

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Opioid medications are commonly used for pain relief. When given over time, physical dependence can occur. This results in unpleasant side effects (such as agitation and nausea) if opioid medications are suddenly stopped. This study aims to test the use of the drug ondansetron to reduce the symptoms associated with opioid withdrawal and to prevent the progression of opioid physical dependence, thereby allowing future investigators to better test the role of physical dependence in the development of addiction and also possibly improving acceptance of abstinence-based programs for addiction.

Detailed Description

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This study will be split into two separate investigations, aim 1 and aim 2.

Study aim 1 (Prevention of Opioid Withdrawal) will investigate whether ondansetron, a 5HT3-receptor antagonist, can reduce or prevent withdrawal signs and symptoms in patients physically dependent on opioids to treat chronic back pain. In this aim, study participants will be titrated onto sustained release oral morphine for 30 days after which time they will return to the lab to undergo naloxone-induced withdrawal with either 8 mg ondansetron pre-treatment (30 min prior to naloxone-induced withdrawal) or placebo. Participants will then return to their titrated dose of oral morphine for one week before returning for the second study session in which they will receive the opposite pre-treatment (8 mg ondansetron or placebo) 30 minutes prior to naloxone-induced withdrawal. Objective opioid withdrawal score (OOWS), subjective opioid withdrawal score (SOWS) and Profile of Mood States (POMS) will be assessed at baseline and five or seven times during the study sessions at 30 and 37 days post titration. Beck Depression Inventory, Roland-Morris Questionnaire and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and VAS Pain Score will be assessed at baseline as well as at both study sessions (30 and 37 days post titration).

Study aim 2 (Prevention of Physical Dependence) will investigate whether ondansetron, a 5HT3 receptor antagonist, can prevent physical dependence in patients taking opioids chronically for controlling chronic back pain. Participants will taper onto sustained release oral morphine for 10 days then will maintain the effective dose for twenty days (total of 30 days) while simultaneously taking 8 mg ondansetron or placebo three times daily with morphine dose. After 30 days of morphine plus 8 mg ondansetron or placebo, study participants will return to the lab to undergo naloxone-induced withdrawal. OOWS, SOWS, POMS, pain visual analogue scale (VAS), Beck Depression Inventory and Roland Morris Disability Index will be administered at baseline and at the beginning of each study session (30 days post titration). Furthermore OOWS, SOWS and POMS will be administered twice during the first study session and at least five times during the second study session (Day 30): at the beginning of the session, after IV insertion, and after naloxone-induced opioid withdrawal.

Conditions

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Opioid Withdrawal Physical Dependence

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Caregivers Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Prevention of Opioid Withdrawal

Chronic back pain patients will titrate onto sustained release oral morphine for 30 days, and then will be randomized to take either ondansetron 8 mg or matching placebo thirty minutes prior to naloxone-induced withdrawal in clinic (Naloxone 0.4 mg/70 kg; if deemed necessary by the clinician to induce withdrawal, a second naloxone dose may be administered at 0.8 mg/70 kg). Participants will return to their titrated morphine dose for one week and then return for the opposite pre-treatment followed by naloxone-induced withdrawal in clinic. Participants will then taper back to their original dose of morphine for one week.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Ondansetron

Intervention Type DRUG

Ondansetron 8 mg oral tablet

Placebo

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo to Match Ondansetron

Morphine

Intervention Type DRUG

Sustained release oral morphine, beginning at 30 mg/d, titrated up by 15 mg/d every 2 days until adequate analgesia is achieved

Naloxone 0.4 mg/70 kg

Intervention Type DRUG

Naloxone 0.4 mg/70 kg intravenous

Naloxone 0.8 mg/70 kg

Intervention Type DRUG

Naloxone 0.8 mg/70 kg intravenous

Prevention of Physical Dependence

Chronic back pain patients will titrate onto sustained release oral morphine for 30 days; during morphine treatment, participants will be randomized to take either ondansetron 8 mg or matching placebo three times daily along with the oral morphine treatment. After thirty days, participants will return to the lab to undergo naloxone-induced withdrawal in clinic (Naloxone 0.4 mg/70 kg; if deemed necessary by the clinician to induce withdrawal, a second naloxone dose may be administered at 0.8 mg/70 kg). Participants will then taper back to their original dose of morphine for one week.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Ondansetron

Intervention Type DRUG

Ondansetron 8 mg oral tablet

Placebo

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo to Match Ondansetron

Morphine

Intervention Type DRUG

Sustained release oral morphine, beginning at 30 mg/d, titrated up by 15 mg/d every 2 days until adequate analgesia is achieved

Naloxone 0.4 mg/70 kg

Intervention Type DRUG

Naloxone 0.4 mg/70 kg intravenous

Naloxone 0.8 mg/70 kg

Intervention Type DRUG

Naloxone 0.8 mg/70 kg intravenous

Interventions

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Ondansetron

Ondansetron 8 mg oral tablet

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo

Placebo to Match Ondansetron

Intervention Type DRUG

Morphine

Sustained release oral morphine, beginning at 30 mg/d, titrated up by 15 mg/d every 2 days until adequate analgesia is achieved

Intervention Type DRUG

Naloxone 0.4 mg/70 kg

Naloxone 0.4 mg/70 kg intravenous

Intervention Type DRUG

Naloxone 0.8 mg/70 kg

Naloxone 0.8 mg/70 kg intravenous

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

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Zofran

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Diagnosis of chronic low-back pain and who may be taking up to 30 mg equivalent of morphine per day (such as Vicodin, Percocet, etc)
* 18-60 years old
* Eligible to escalate opioid therapy dose, as determined by the treating physician or PI
* At low risk for addiction as determined by the PI and an addiction expert, Dr. Ian Carroll.

Exclusion Criteria

* History of cardiovascular disease
* History of peripheral neuropathic pain, scleroderma, or other condition that would preclude cold water forearm immersion
* History of addiction or chronic pain conditions other than low-back pain, d) history of cardiac arrhythmia
* History of hepatic disease
* Use of steroid or nerve-stimulating medications
* Any condition precluding opioid use
* Pregnancy
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

60 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Stanford University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Larry Fu-nien Chu

Principle Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Larry F Chu, MD, MS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Stanford University

Locations

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Stanford University

Stanford, California, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Chu LF, Liang DY, Li X, Sahbaie P, D'arcy N, Liao G, Peltz G, David Clark J. From mouse to man: the 5-HT3 receptor modulates physical dependence on opioid narcotics. Pharmacogenet Genomics. 2009 Mar;19(3):193-205. doi: 10.1097/FPC.0b013e328322e73d.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19214139 (View on PubMed)

Atlas SJ, Nardin RA. Evaluation and treatment of low back pain: an evidence-based approach to clinical care. Muscle Nerve. 2003 Mar;27(3):265-84. doi: 10.1002/mus.10311.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12635113 (View on PubMed)

Betses M, Brennan T. Abusive prescribing of controlled substances--a pharmacy view. N Engl J Med. 2013 Sep 12;369(11):989-91. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1308222. Epub 2013 Aug 21. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23964897 (View on PubMed)

Birnbaum HG, White AG, Schiller M, Waldman T, Cleveland JM, Roland CL. Societal costs of prescription opioid abuse, dependence, and misuse in the United States. Pain Med. 2011 Apr;12(4):657-67. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01075.x. Epub 2011 Mar 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21392250 (View on PubMed)

Chu LF, D'Arcy N, Brady C, Zamora AK, Young CA, Kim JE, Clemenson AM, Angst MS, Clark DJ. Analgesic tolerance without demonstrable opioid-induced hyperalgesia: a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of sustained-release morphine for treatment of chronic nonradicular low-back pain. Pain. 2012 Aug;153(8):1583-1592. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2012.02.028. Epub 2012 Jun 16.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22704854 (View on PubMed)

Clark JD. Chronic pain prevalence and analgesic prescribing in a general medical population. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2002 Feb;23(2):131-7. doi: 10.1016/s0885-3924(01)00396-7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11844633 (View on PubMed)

Colthup PV, Felgate CC, Palmer JL, Scully NL. Determination of ondansetron in plasma and its pharmacokinetics in the young and elderly. J Pharm Sci. 1991 Sep;80(9):868-71. doi: 10.1002/jps.2600800913.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 1839313 (View on PubMed)

Compton P, Athanasos P, Elashoff D. Withdrawal hyperalgesia after acute opioid physical dependence in nonaddicted humans: a preliminary study. J Pain. 2003 Nov;4(9):511-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2003.08.003.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 14636819 (View on PubMed)

Compton P, Miotto K, Elashoff D. Precipitated opioid withdrawal across acute physical dependence induction methods. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2004 Feb;77(2):263-8. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2003.10.017.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 14751453 (View on PubMed)

Handelsman L, Cochrane KJ, Aronson MJ, Ness R, Rubinstein KJ, Kanof PD. Two new rating scales for opiate withdrawal. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 1987;13(3):293-308. doi: 10.3109/00952998709001515.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 3687892 (View on PubMed)

Plosker GL, Milne RJ. Ondansetron: a pharmacoeconomic and quality-of-life evaluation of its antiemetic activity in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy. Pharmacoeconomics. 1992 Oct;2(4):285-304. doi: 10.2165/00019053-199202040-00005.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10147044 (View on PubMed)

Meert TF. Effects of various serotonergic agents on alcohol intake and alcohol preference in Wistar rats selected at two different levels of alcohol preference. Alcohol Alcohol. 1993 Mar;28(2):157-70.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8517886 (View on PubMed)

Chu LF, Sun J, Clemenson A, Erlendson MJ, Rico T, Cornell E, Obasi H, Sayyid ZN, Encisco EM, Yu J, Gamble JG, Carroll I, Clark JD. Ondansetron Does Not Reduce Withdrawal in Patients With Physical Dependence on Chronic Opioid Therapy. J Addict Med. 2017 Sep/Oct;11(5):342-349. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000321.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 28514235 (View on PubMed)

Chu LF, Rico T, Cornell E, Obasi H, Encisco EM, Vertelney H, Gamble JG, Crawford CW, Sun J, Clemenson A, Erlendson MJ, Okada R, Carroll I, Clark JD. Ondansetron does not prevent physical dependence in patients taking opioid medications chronically for pain control. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2018 Feb 1;183:176-183. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.06.043. Epub 2017 Aug 14.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 29278818 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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1R01DA029078

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

5HT3 19821

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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