Fentanyl

Trade Names: Duragesic 50, Fentora,

Uses

  • Pain management (Acute and chronic pain)
  • Analgesia and sedation for critically ill patients in ICU
  • Procedural sedation and analgesia (outside the operating room)
  • Pretreatment for rapid sequence intubation

Adverse Effects

Considerations for PT

  1. Consider risk of dizziness and drowsiness and potential impact on falls risk.Consider risk of dizziness and drowsiness and potential impact on falls risk.
  2. Consider timing for pain relief prior to Physiotherapy intervention Consider timing for pain relief prior to Physiotherapy intervention

Route of Administration

  1. Buccal tablet Buccal tablet
  2. EpiduralEpidural
  3. Intramuscular (IM)Intramuscular (IM)
  4. Intranasal Intranasal
  5. Intravenous (IV)Intravenous (IV)
  6. LozengeLozenge
  7. SubcutaneousSubcutaneous
  8. SublingualSublingual
  9. TransdermalTransdermal

Mechanism of Action

Binds with opioid receptors in the central nervous system, causing:

  • Increased pain threshold
  • Alteration in pain reception
  • Inhibition of ascending pain pathways

Drug Dynamics

Time to Peak Effect

15 minutes to 30 minutes

Duration of Action

1 hour to 2 hours

Time to Onset

10 minutes to 15 minutes

Resources

*Some links accessed via VCH Intranet

Last updated: April 30, 2026