FDA Renews Warnings on Pain-Relief Patch

(Page 3)

"Fentanyl is a powerful, fast-acting pain inhibitor that, like all opioids, can stop the patient's breathing at excessive doses," said Edwin W. McCleskey, scientific officer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md.

Its use in hospitals is appropriate, because it can be carefully monitored, and overdose can be quickly relieved by an antagonistic drug, he said.

"Home use is obviously dangerous," McCleskey said. "The fact that the temperature of the fentanyl patch alters the drug's delivery rate means that the patient's dose will vary with ambient temperature and skin temperature. Such variables and the fact that patients receiving this powerful drug are already very sick argue that the patients must be carefully supervised."

More information

For more on fentanyl patches, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.