A DRUG FOR ALL PAINS. Pain is a valuable protective mechanism, but some forms of pain can be physically and psychologically intolerable. No drug is more effective relieving pain than morphine, but there are occasions when similar drugs might be preferable because they can be administered in different ways. Fentanyl is a synthetic painkilling drug that has morphine-like (opioid) effects, but it works at a mere one-hundredth of the dose. While most opioid drugs can only be given by mouth or injection, fentanyl has been formulated into multiple dosage forms to deal with various types of pain.
Since fentanyl prevents pain within minutes after being injected, it is commonly used with other drugs prior to surgery to produce a state in which patients are pain free, partially conscious, and indifferent to their stressful surroundings. The effects wear off quickly after drug administration stops, and other less powerful drugs can be used to relieve postoperative pain.
In instances in which patients are likely to experience chronic, severe pain, as with cancer, it is desirable to relieve pain around-the-clock. Fentanyl can be administered as a transdermal product (Duragesic), in which a patch is applied to the skin, and the drug is slowly released and absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream. The patch produces sustained pain relief for up to forty-eight hours.
A high-dose fentanyl-containing “lollipop“ (Actiq) is available for patients already using other opioids for severe pain but who still experience sudden pain for short periods. The lollipop allows fentanyl to be slowly absorbed across the membranes of the inner cheeks, tongue, and gums.
Fentanyl use is not without danger. Inadvertent exposure to high doses, such as those from defective patches, can result in overdose, respiratory failure, and death.
SEE ALSO Morphine (1806), Opioids (1973), OxyContin (1996).
Back pain is the most frequent cause of job-related disability and is second only to headaches as the most common symptom of a neurological ailment in the United States. A fentanyl patch may be prescribed to relieve acute and chronic pain.