During the past decade, the purity of heroin sold in the Northeastern U.S. declined, while at the same time the availability of prescription opioids increased considerably. In 2006, illicitly produced fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid, was added to heroin sold in a handful of mostly Northeastern U.S. cities, resulting in over one thousand deaths. We argue that the introduction of f...

Abstract Background: The combination of propofol-fentanyl for sedation during colonoscopy is characterized by the frequent incidence of side effects. Etomidate-fentanyl provides fewer hemodynamic and respiratory complications. The aim of our study was to compare the safety and efficacy of propofol-fentanyl and etomidate-fentanyl for conscious sedation in elective colonoscopy. Methods: This do...

Fentanyl is a strong opioid analgesic, which is commonly used in the form of a transdermal patch for the treatment of chronic cancer pain. An intranasal route of fentanyl administration is a novel treatment for breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP). The prevalence, assessment, and management of BTCP is outlined in this paper, and basic pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, dosing guidelines...

BACKGROUND Regional anesthesia techniques are increasingly preferred for caesarean section. The aim of the present study was to compare the anesthetic effects of levobupivacaine + fentanyl and bupivacaine + fentanyl on the mother and newborn during elective caesarean section under spinal anesthesia. METHODS In this prospective study, 50 gravidas, who were scheduled for cesarean section were e...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of CYP3A5 and ABCB1 gene polymorphisms on fentanyl pharmacokinetics and clinical responses in cancer patients undergoing conversion to a transdermal system. Sixty Japanese cancer patients being treated with a fentanyl transdermal reservoir system according to the current Japanese guidelines were enrolled. Blood samples were obtained 192 h afte...

abstract background: the combination of propofol-fentanyl for sedation during colonoscopy is characterized by the frequent incidence of side effects. etomidate-fentanyl provides fewer hemodynamic and respiratory complications. the aim of our study was to compare the safety and efficacy of propofol-fentanyl and etomidate-fentanyl for conscious sedation in elective colonoscopy. methods: this doub...

background spinal anesthesia is a common procedure in the anesthesia. in some studies it has been shown that chronic use of opioids is associated with shorter duration of spinal anesthesia when local anesthetics are applied. objectives this trial was conducted in order to determine effect of fentanyl on the duration of spinal block by bupivacaine in chronic opium abusers who undergo spinal anes...

There are only a few studies on the molecular mechanisms underlying the peripheral antihyperalgesic effect of opioids. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular bases of the peripheral antihyperalgesic effect of fentanyl in a model of prostaglandin-induced chemical hyperalgesia. Prostaglandin E2 (1.4 nmol) injected into one hind paw of male Wistar rats (200-250 g, N = 6 in each exp...

BACKGROUND Tissue damage may produce hyperalgesia, allodynia, and persistent pain. The authors recently reported that fentanyl elicits analgesia but also activates N-methyl-D-aspartate-dependent pain facilitatory processes opposing analgesia. In nonsuffering rats, this leads to a long-lasting enhancement in pain sensitivity. The current study assessed whether fentanyl could amplify carrageenan-...

Individual differences in the sensitivity to fentanyl, a widely used opioid analgesic, lead to different proper doses of fentanyl, which can hamper effective pain treatment. Voltage-activated Ca(2+) channels (VACCs) play a crucial role in the nervous system by controlling membrane excitability and calcium signaling. Ca(v)2.3 (R-type) VACCs have been especially thought to play critical roles in ...