Fentanyl & Congeners
Fentanyl & Congeners
Fentanyl & Congeners
27/11/2023
FENTANYL
• Potent synthetic opioid
• Is a Phenylpiperidine
• First produced in 1960
• 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine
Pharmacokinetics
• Lipophilic & readily crosses the BBB
• Clinical effect starts to wear off after 30-40 min due to redistribution
to inactive sites such as fat and skeletal muscle
• Alfentanil
➢Less potent than fentanyl
➢Acts more rapidly & has a much shorter duration of action
• Remifentanil
➢Metabolized very rapidly by blood & tissue esterases
➢Short half life (12- 30 minutes)
• Carfentanil
➢Used in vet medicine for sedating elephants
LEVORPHANOL
.
Levorphanol
• Is a Morphinan
• First developed in the 1940s as an alternative to morphine
• More potent than morphine
Pharmacokinetics
• Administered orally/IV/SC/IM
• When given orally peak analgesic effect occurs 1 hr after
administration
• When given IV- analgesic effect within 20 minutes
• Duration of analgesic effect= 6-15 hours
Pharmacokinetics- 2
• Undergoes glucuronidation to levorphanol-3-glucuronide, an active
metabolite
• Excreted by the kidneys
• Has a long half life (30hrs)
Mechanism of action
• Agonist at µ, delta and kappa receptors
• Also a non-competitive antagonist at NMDA receptors
.
Adverse Effects
• Nausea, vomitting
• Lower incidence compared to morphine
• Sedation
• Constipation
• Pruritus due to histamine release
• Increases bile duct pressure and should be avoided in biliary surgery
• Causes contraction of biliary smooth muscle
PETHIDINE
.
PETHIDINE
• Synthetic opioid
• Also known as meperidine
• Can be given orally but is less effective than when given parenterally
• Produces prompt but short duration of analgesia
• Less constipating & less potent than morphine
• Not suitable for severe continuing pain
Pethidine cont..
• Less respiratory depression than other opioid analgesics ~ use for
analgesia in labour
• Causes dilatation of pupil because of an atropine-like activity
• Well absorbed from the GIT compared with morphine but most often
given IM
• Duration of action (2-4hrs) shorter than that of morphine (4-6hrs)
• Addictive
Pethidine cont….
• Half life = 3-4 hrs
• Prolonged elimination half life of 22 hours in neonates
• One of its metabolites, normeperidine, has serotonergic properties
and may increase risk of serotonin syndrome & seizures
• Serotonin syndrome: Potentially life-threatening condition associated with
increased serotonergic activity in the CNS. Presents with agitation, twitching,
dilated pupils, hypertension, muscle rigidity
Clinical Uses
• Moderate to severe pain
• Obstetric analgesia
• Peri-operative analgesia
• Can be used as an adjunct to preoperative medications due to its anti-
shivering effect
• Anti-shivering effect may be due to stimulation of kappa receptors
Adverse Effects
• Respiratory depression
• Vomitting
• Delayed gastric emptying
THE END
.