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Fentanyl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fentanyl
Clinical data
Trade names
AHFS/Drugs.com monograph
Pregnancy
category
AU:
Legal status
AU:
C
US: C (Risk not ruled out)
Controlled (S8)
UK: Class A
US: Schedule II
(Prescription only)
Dependence
liability
Routes of
administration
Very high
TD, IM, IV, oral transmucosal,
sublingual, buccal
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability
92% (transdermal)
89% (intranasal)
50% (buccal)
33% (ingestion)
Protein binding
8085%
Metabolism
Biological halfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fentanyl
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Contents
1 Medical uses
1.1 Patches
1.2 Lozenges
1.3 Other
2 Veterinary use
3 Adverse effects
4 Storage and disposal
4.1 Overdoses and fatalities
5 Analogues
6 Mechanism of action
7 History
8 Recreational use
9 Military use
9.1 Analgesic
9.2 As a poison
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
life
Excretion
CAS Registry
Number
ATC code
437-38-7
PubChem
CID: 3345
IUPHAR/BPS
1626
DrugBank
DB00813
ChemSpider
3228
UNII
UF599785JZ
KEGG
D00320
ChEBI
CHEBI:119915
ChEMBL
CHEMBL596
N01AH01 N02AB03
Chemical data
Formula
C22H28N2O
Medical uses
SMILES
InChI
Physical data
Patches
Fentanyl transdermal patch (Durogesic/Duragesic/Matrifen) is used in chronic pain management. The
patches work by slowly releasing fentanyl through the skin into the bloodstream over 48 to 72 hours,
allowing for long-lasting pain management.[20] Dosage is based on the size of the patch, since, in general,
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the transdermal absorption rate is constant at a constant skin temperature.[20] Rate of absorption is
dependent on a number of factors. Body temperature, skin type, amount of body fat, and placement of the
patch can have major effects. The different delivery systems used by
different makers will also affect individual rates of absorption.
Under normal circumstances, the patch will reach its full effect
within 12 to 24 hours; thus, fentanyl patches are often prescribed
with a fast-acting opiate (such as morphine or oxycodone) to handle
breakthrough pain.[20]
In palliative care, transdermal fentanyl has a definite, but limited,
role for:
people already stabilized on other opioids who have persistent
swallowing problem and cannot tolerate other parenteral
routes such as subcutaneous administration.
people with moderate to severe renal failure.
troublesome side effects of oral morphine, hydromorphone, or
oxycodone.
Lozenges
Fentanyl lozenges (Actiq) are a solid formulation of fentanyl citrate on a stick in the form of a lollipop that
dissolves slowly in the mouth for transmucosal absorption. These lozenges are intended for opioid-tolerant
individuals and are effective in treating breakthrough cancer pain.[21] It has also been used for
breakthrough pain for patients with nonmalignant (not cancer related) pain, but this application is
controversial.[22] The unit is a berry-flavored lozenge on a stick swabbed on the mucosal surfaces inside
the mouth inside of the cheeks, under and on the tongue and gums to release the fentanyl quickly into
the system. It is most effective when the lozenge is consumed within 15 minutes. About 25% of the drug is
absorbed through the oral mucosa, resulting in a fast onset of action, and the rest is swallowed and
absorbed in the small intestine, acting more slowly. The lozenge is less effective and acts more slowly if
swallowed as a whole, as despite good absorbance from the small intestine there is extensive first-pass
metabolism, leading to an oral bioavailability of about 33% as opposed to 50% when used correctly (25%
via the mouth mucosa and 25% via the gut).[21]
However, most people find that it takes 1015 minutes to use all of one lozenge, and those with a dry mouth
cannot use this route. In addition, medical personnel are unable to document how much of a lozenge has
been used by a person, making drug records inaccurate.
Other
A wide range of fentanyl preparations is available, including buccal tablets or patches, nasal sprays,
inhalers, and active transdermal patches (heat or electrical). Some preparations such as nasal sprays and
inhalers may result in a rapid response, but the fast onset of high blood levels may compromise safety. In
addition, the expense of some of these appliances may greatly reduce their cost-effectiveness. In children it
is unclear if intranasal fentanyl is as good as or same as morphine.[23]
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Fentanyl is sometimes given intrathecally as part of spinal anesthesia or epidurally for epidural anesthesia
and analgesia. Because of fentanyl's high lipid solubility, its effects are more localized than morphine, and
some clinicians prefer to use morphine to get a wider spread of analgesia.
Veterinary use
Fentanyl (in injectable formulation) is commonly used for analgesia and as a component of balanced
sedation and general anesthesia in small animal patients. Its potency and short duration of action make it
particularly useful in critically ill patients. In addition, it tends to cause less vomiting and regurgitation than
do other pure-opioid agonists (morphine, hydromorphone) when given as a continuous infusion postoperatively. As with other pure opioids, fentanyl can be associated with dysphoria in both dogs and cats.
Transdermal fentanyl has also been used for many years in dogs and cats for post-operative analgesia.
Most commonly this has been accomplished by off-label use of fentanyl patches manufactured for use in
humans with chronic malignant pain. In 2012 a highly concentrated (50 mg/ml) transdermal solution, trade
name Recuvyra, has become commercially available for use in dogs only. It is FDA approved to provide
four days of analgesia (again in dogs only) after a single application prior to surgery. It is not approved for
multiple doses or use in other species.[24] The drug is also approved in Europe.[25]
Adverse effects
Fentanyl's most common side-effects (more than 10% of patients) include diarrhea, nausea, constipation,
dry mouth, somnolence, confusion, asthenia (weakness), and sweating and, less frequently (3 to 10% of
patients), abdominal pain, headache, fatigue, anorexia and weight loss, dizziness, nervousness,
hallucinations, anxiety, depression, flu-like symptoms, dyspepsia (indigestion), dyspnea (shortness of
breath), hypoventilation, apnea, and urinary retention. Fentanyl use has also been associated with
aphasia.[3]
Despite being a more potent analgesic, fentanyl tends to induce less nausea, as well as less histaminemediated itching, in relation to morphine.[26]
Fentanyl may produce more prolonged respiratory depression than other opioid
analgesics.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33] In 2006 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began
investigating several respiratory deaths, but doctors in the United Kingdom were not warned of the risks
with fentanyl until September 2008.[34] The FDA reported in April 2012 that young children had died or
become seriously ill from accidental exposure to a fentanyl skin patch.[35]
The precise reason for sudden respiratory depression is unclear, but there are several hypotheses:
Saturation of the body fat compartment in patients with rapid and profound body fat loss (patients
with cancer, cardiac or infection-induced cachexia can lose 80% of their body fat).
Early carbon dioxide retention causing cutaneous vasodilatation (releasing more fentanyl), together
with acidosis, which reduces protein binding of fentanyl, releasing yet more fentanyl.
Reduced sedation, losing a useful early warning sign of opioid toxicity and resulting in levels closer to
respiratory-depressant levels.
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Analogues
Structural analogs of fentanyl include:
Alfentanil (trade name Alfenta), an ultra-short-acting (five- to 10-minute) analgesic.
Sufentanil (trade name Sufenta), a potent analgesic (five to 10 times more potent than fentanyl) for
use in specific surgeries and surgery in heavily opioid-tolerant/opioid-dependent patients. Its binding
affinity is high enough to theoretically break through a buprenorphine blockade to offer pain relief
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Mechanism of action
Fentanyl provides some of the effects typical of other opioids through its agonism of the opioid receptors.
Its strong potency in relation to that of morphine is largely due to its high lipophilicity, per the MeyerOverton correlation. Because of this, it can more easily penetrate the CNS.[26]
History
Fentanyl was first synthesized by Paul Janssen under the label of his relatively newly formed Janssen
Pharmaceutica in 1959.[47] In the 1960s, fentanyl was introduced as an intravenous anesthetic under the
trade name of Sublimaze. In the mid-1990s, Janssen Pharmaceutica developed and introduced into clinical
trials the Duragesic patch, which is a formation of an inert alcohol gel infused with select fentanyl doses,
which are worn to provide constant administration of the opioid over a period of 48 to 72 hours. After a set
of successful clinical trials, Duragesic fentanyl patches were introduced into the medical practice.
Following the patch, a flavored lollipop of fentanyl citrate mixed with inert fillers was introduced under the
brand name of Actiq, becoming the first quick-acting formation of fentanyl for use with chronic
breakthrough pain. More recently, fentanyl has been developed into an effervescent tab for buccal
absorption much like the Actiq lollipop, followed by a buccal spray device for fast-acting relief and other
delivery methods currently in development.
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A fentanyl product has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for breakthrough
cancer pain called Onsolis. It uses a drug delivery technology called BEMA (fentanyl buccal soluble film) on
a small disc placed in the mouth. Unlike many other fentanyl products, the drug cannot be abused by
crushing and inhaling.
Fentanyl has a US DEA ACSCN of 9801 and a 2013 annual aggregate manufacturing quota of 2108.75
kilos, unchanged from the prior year.
Recreational use
Illicit use of pharmaceutical fentanyl and its analogues first appeared in the
mid-1970s in the medical community and continues in the present. United
States authorities classify fentanyl as a narcotic and an opioid. To date,
more than 12 different analogues of fentanyl have been produced
clandestinely and identified in the U.S. drug traffic. The biological effects of
the fentanyl analogues are similar to those of heroin, with the exception that
many users report a noticeably less euphoric "high" associated with the drug
and stronger sedative and analgesic effects.
Fentanyl analogues may be hundreds of times more potent than street
heroin, and tends to produce significantly more respiratory depression,
making it somewhat more dangerous than heroin to users. Fentanyl is used
orally, smoked, snorted, or injected. Fentanyl is sometimes sold as heroin,
often leading to overdoses. Many fentanyl overdoses are initially classified
as heroin overdoses.[49] In Estonia, due to its high rate of recreational use,
fentanyl causes more deaths nationwide than traffic accidents.[50]
Fentanyl is sometimes sold on the black market in the form of transdermal fentanyl patches such as
Duragesic, diverted from legitimate medical supplies. The patches may be cut up and eaten, or the gel from
inside the patch smoked.
Another dosage form of fentanyl that has appeared on the streets is the Actiq fentanyl lollipops, which are
sold under the street name of "percopop". The pharmacy retail price ranges from US$15 to US$50 per unit
(based on strength of lozenge), with the black market cost anywhere from US$20 to US$80 per unit,
depending on the strength.
Non-medical use of fentanyl by individuals without opiate tolerance can be very dangerous and has resulted
in numerous deaths.[51] Even those with opiate tolerances are at high risk for overdoses. Once the fentanyl
is in the user's system, it is extremely difficult to stop its course because of the nature of absorption. Illicitly
synthesized fentanyl powder has also appeared on the United States market. Because of the extremely high
strength of pure fentanyl powder, it is very difficult to dilute appropriately, and often the resulting mixture
may be far too strong and, therefore, very dangerous.
Some heroin dealers mix fentanyl powder with heroin to increase potency or compensate for low-quality
heroin. In 2006, illegally manufactured, non-pharmaceutical fentanyl often mixed with cocaine or heroin
caused an outbreak of overdose deaths in the United States, heavily concentrated in the cities of Dayton,
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(Ohio), Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia,[52] as well as Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and
Camden (New Jersey).[53] Little Rock and Dallas[54] were also affected. The mixture of fentanyl and
heroin is known as "magic" or "the bomb", among other names, on the street.[55]
Several large quantities of illicitly produced fentanyl have been seized by U.S. law enforcement agencies. In
June 2006, 945 grams of 83%-pure fentanyl powder was seized by Border Patrol agents in California from
a vehicle that had entered from Mexico.[56] Mexico is the source of much of the illicit fentanyl for sale in
the U.S. However, in April 2006, there was one domestic fentanyl lab discovered by law enforcement in
Azusa, California. The lab was a source of counterfeit 80-mg OxyContin tablets containing fentanyl instead
of oxycodone, as well as bulk fentanyl and other drugs.[57][58]
The "China White" form of fentanyl refers to any of a number of clandestinely produced analogues,
especially -methylfentanyl (AMF).[59] This Department of Justice document lists "China White" as a
synonym for a number of fentanyl analogues, including 3-methylfentanyl and -methylfentanyl,[60] which
today are classified as Schedule I drugs in the United States.[61] Part of the motivation for AMF is that,
despite the extra difficulty from a synthetic standpoint, the resultant drug is relatively more resistant to
metabolic degradation. This results in a drug with an increased duration.[62]
In June 2013, the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health
advisory[63] to emergency departments alerting to 14 overdose deaths among intravenous drug users in
Rhode Island associated with acetylfentanyl, a novel, injected, non-prescription synthetic opioid analog of
fentanyl.
Military use
Analgesic
The Danish Army uses the fentanyl stick in military operations as a painkiller. The war documentary
Armadillo (2010) features an interview with a Danish medic who tells of using fentanyl on a severely
wounded soldier in Afghanistan.
The United States Air Force Pararescue and Swedish armed forces combat medics utilize lollipops with
fentanyl.[64]
As a poison
It is alleged that Mossad agents used "levofentanyl" in their 1997 attempt to kill Hamas leader Khalid
Mishal.[65] However, since fentanyl is achiral (i.e., has no "levo-" form), the substance was probably
fentanyl itself, a fentanyl analogue, or another opioid. However, it could have been a non-opioid sedative or
unknown drug.
See also
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3-Methylbutyrfentanyl
3-Methylfentanyl
4-Fluorofentanyl
-Methylfentanyl
Acetylfentanyl
Butyrfentanyl
Furanylfentanyl
List of Fentanyl analogues
References
1. Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Duragesic) (http://www.duragesic.com/)
2. Hess R, Stiebler G, Herz A (June 1972). "Pharmacokinetics of fentanyl in man and the rabbit". Eur. J. Clin.
Pharmacol. 4 (3): 13741. doi:10.1007/BF00561135 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00561135).
PMID 4655287 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4655287).
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fuseaction=Search.SearchAction&SearchTerm=fentanyl&SearchType=BasicSearch). Drugs@FDA: FDA
Approved Drug Products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
4. "Introducing Onsolis" (http://www.onsolis.com). Onsolis.com. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
5. "EPAR summary for the public: Instanyl" (http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR__Summary_for_the_public/human/000959/WC500033142.pdf) (PDF). European Medicines Agency. Retrieved
2010-07-28.
6. "Abstral: Prescribing Information" (http://newdrugreview.com/index.php/analgesic-drugs/abstral-fentanyl).
Retrieved 2011-01-07.
7. "Lazanda (fentanyl nasal spray) CII" (http://www.lazanda.com/). Lazanda.com. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
8. "Fentanyl" (http://www.drugs.com/international/fentanyl.html). International Drug Names. Drugs.com.
9. "WCPI Focus on Pain Series: The Three Faces of Fentanyl" (http://aspi.wisc.edu/wpi/focus/spring96.htm).
Aspi.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
10. "FENTANYL : Incapacitating Agent"
(http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/EmergencyResponseCard_29750022.html). CDC. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
11. Mutschler, Ernst; Schfer-Korting, Monika (2001). Arzneimittelwirkungen (in German) (8 ed.). Stuttgart:
Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft. p. 286. ISBN 3-8047-1763-2.
12. Stanley TH (April 1992). "The history and development of the fentanyl series". J Pain Symptom Manage 7 (3
Suppl): S37. doi:10.1016/0885-3924(92)90047-L (https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2F0885-3924%2892%2990047L). PMID 1517629 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1517629).
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(http://www.pauljanssenaward.com/janssen/A_Personal_Perspective.pdf#zoom=100) (PDF). J. Med. Chem. 48 (6):
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15. "Subsys (fentanyl sublingual spray)" (http://www.centerwatch.com/drug-information/fda-approveddrugs/drug/1179/subsys-fentanyl-sublingual-spray).
16. "Long Term Safety and Efficacy Study of Fentanyl Sublingual Spray for the Treatment of Breakthrough Cancer
Pain - Full Text View" (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00538863). ClinicalTrials.gov. Retrieved
2010-07-28.
17. Narcotic Drugs 2014 (https://www.incb.org/documents/Narcotic-Drugs/TechnicalPublications/2014/Narcotic_Drugs_Report_2014.pdf) (PDF). INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL
BOARD. 2015. p. 21. ISBN 9789210481571.
18. Parry WH, Martorano F, Cotton EK (January 1976). "Management of life-threatening asthma with intravenous
isoproterenol infusions". Am. J. Dis. Child. 130 (1): 3942. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1976.02120020041006
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56. Intelligence alert: High purity fentanyl seized near Westmoreland, California
(http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/forensicsci/microgram/mg0606/mg0606.html), DEA Microgram, June 2006
57. Intelligence alert: Large fentanyl / MDA / TMA laboratory in Azuza, California - possibly the "OC-80" tablet
source (http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/forensicsci/microgram/mg0406/mg0406.html), DEA Microgram, April
2006.
58. Intelligence alert: Oxycontin mimic tablets (containing fentanyl) near Atlantic, Iowa
(http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/forensicsci/microgram/mg0106/mg0106.html), DEA Microgram, January
2006.
59. List of Schedule I Drugs, U.S. Department of Justice.
(http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/listby_sched/sched1.htm)
60. Behind the Identification of China White
(http://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/china.white.identification.html) Analytical Chemistry, 53(12),
1379A-1386A (1981)
61. List of Schedule I Drugs, U.S. Department of Justice.
(http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/listby_sched/sched1.htm)
62. Van Bever WF, Niemegeers CJ, Janssen PA (October 1974). "Synthetic analgesics. Synthesis and pharmacology of
the diastereoisomers of N-(3-methyl-1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidyl)-N-phenylpropanamide and N-(3-methyl-1-(1methyl-2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidyl)-N-phenylpropanamide". J. Med. Chem. 17 (10): 104751.
doi:10.1021/jm00256a003 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1021%2Fjm00256a003). PMID 4420811
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4420811).
63. CDC Health Alert Network (June 20, 2013). "Recommendations for Laboratory Testing for Acetyl Fentanyl and
Patient Evaluation and Treatment for Overdose with Synthetic Opioids"
(http://emergency.cdc.gov/HAN/han00350.asp). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved June 20,
2013.
64. Shachtman, Noah (September 10, 2009). "Airborne EMTs Shave Seconds to Save Lives in Afghanistan"
(http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/airborne_emts_in_astan/). Danger Room. Wired.com. Retrieved
July 1, 2010.
65. McGeough, Paul (2009) Kill Khalid - The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas.
Quartet Books. ISBN 978-0-7043-7157-6. Page 184.
External links
National Institute of Health (NIH) Medline Plus: Fentanyl Buccal (Transmucosal)
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a605043.html)
RxList: Fentanyl (http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/fentanyl.htm)
US DEA information: fentanyl (http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/fentanyl.html)
08/16/2007 News Release: Cephalon Announces Positive Results from a Pivotal Study of FENTORA
in Opioid-tolerant Patients with Non-cancer Breakthrough Pain
(http://www.cephalon.com/newsroom/news_reader.aspx?ID=1041238)
BBC news report on Russian siege story (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2377563.stm)
Fentanyl: Emergency Response Database
(http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/EmergencyResponseCard_29750022.html). National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health.
U.S. National Library of Medicine: Drug Information Portal - Fentanyl
(http://druginfo.nlm.nih.gov/drugportal/dpdirect.jsp?name=Fentanyl)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fentanyl&oldid=670439819"
Categories: General anesthetics Synthetic opioids Piperidines Anilides Propionamides
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