fentanyl
Sign in to saveFentanyl is a highly potent synthetic opioid of the piperidine family, used primarily as pain medication. It is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary clinical use is in pain management for cancer patients and those recovering from surgery. Fentanyl is also used as a sedative for intubated patients. Fentanyl has a short duration of action. Fentanyl works by activating μ-opioid receptors. Brand names include Actiq, Duragesic, and Sublimaze, among others.
AI overview
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic painkiller that is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine and is primarily used to treat severe pain in cancer patients and people recovering from surgery. It matters because its extreme potency makes it effective for serious medical needs, but this same strength also makes it a significant public health concern when misused.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Drug.Watchedfields
- changed
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- Drug.pronounce
- /ˈfɛntəˌnɪl/
- Drug.tradename
- Actiq, Duragesic, Sublimaze, others
- Drug.MedlinePlus
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Article
46 sectionsContents
- Medical uses
- Anesthesia
- Regional anesthesia
- Obstetrics
- Pain management
- Chronic pain
- Palliative care
- Combat medicine
- Breathing difficulties
- Other
- Adverse effects
- Respiratory depression
- Heart and blood vessels
- Muscle rigidity
- Wooden chest syndrome
- Overdose
- Prevention
- Pharmacology
- Classification
- Structure-activity
- Fentanyl analogs
- Mechanism of action
- Therapeutic effects
- Detection in biological fluids
- Detection for harm reduction purposes
- Synthesis
- Janssen
- Siegfried
- Gupta
- Suh
- History
- Society and culture
- Legal status
- Recreational use
- Enforcement
- Brand names
- Economics
- Storage and disposal
- State usage as weapon
- US death penalty
- Russian theater siege
- Veterinary use
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic opioid of the piperidine family, used primarily as pain medication. It is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary clinical use is in pain management for cancer patients and those recovering from surgery. Fentanyl is also used as a sedative for intubated patients. Fentanyl has a short duration of action. Fentanyl works by activating μ-opioid receptors. Brand names include Actiq, Duragesic, and Sublimaze, among others.
Fentanyl was first synthesized by Paul Janssen in 1960 and was approved for medical use in the United States in 1968. In 2015, were used in healthcare globally. , fentanyl was the most widely used synthetic opioid in medicine; in 2019, it was the 278th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than a million prescriptions. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.