Fentanyl in the Out-of-Hospital Setting: Variables Associated with Hypotension and Hypoxemia

Efficacy and safety of intravenous fentanyl administered by ambulance personnel

“…Experienced physicians or paramedics provided higher cumulative dosages of fentanyl in these studies and therefore the results are not directly comparable to our results. 6,9,13,14 Although significant pain relief was observed, moderate to severe pain was still seen in nearly 60% of patients in our study (n = 1371/2348). Moderate to severe pain among injured patients in our study (n = 726/1201) was frequently observed as in a pre-hospital study from Norway.…”

The Effectiveness and Adverse Events of Morphine versus Fentanyl on a Physician-staffed Helicopter

“…There is also the question of whether including fentanyl in prehospital formularies is worth the risk given its abuse potential among medical staff. Although surveillance data suggest that nationally, fentanyl is one of the least abused drugs in the non-physician population, fentanyl abuse by physicians is a well-recognized concern (24,25).…”

Pain Management Strategies and Time Spent on Scene for Pre-Hospital Analgesia Provision in an Alpine Environment: A Retrospective Study

“…Although a transient side-effect of opiates must be considered for patients who received fentanyl and experienced hypoxemia, erroneous low SpO 2 readings because of the cold environment may have also played a role. Although we cannot exclude that side-effects were either under-detected or under-reported, our findings support fentanyl as a safe analgesic, with minimal cardiorespiratory repercussions [8,11,12,35].…”

“…Both are considered safe and effective in managing moderate-to-severe pain, including pain experienced by patients during mountain rescue [1,2,[8][9][10][11].…”