Nebulized Fentanyl for Respiratory Symptoms in Patients With COVID-19
Status:
Not yet recruiting
Trial end date:
2022-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Patients with Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) experience distressing and challenging to manage
respiratory symptoms. Interventions such as Oxygen (O2) therapy, oral opiates, and
traditional nebulizers like ipratropium bromide and salbutamol, are variably effective, and
therapeutic responses in individual patients are difficult to predict. The purpose of this
study is to investigate the efficacy of nebulized fentanyl citrate on dyspnea, cough, and
throat pain in patients with COVID-19, as well as evaluate the safety with any potential
adverse events.
In COVID-19, about 59% of patients will exhibit cough, 35% generalized body ache and sore
throat and 31% will have dyspnea. Nebulized Lidocaine, magnesium, and opioids are alternative
methods for the management of respiratory symptoms in various patients. Fentanyl nebulization
was found to be effective in decreasing dyspnea in COPD patients by decreasing the rate of
spontaneous respiratory rate, modulating cortical activity, and diminishing the brain stem
chemoreceptor response to hypoxia and hypercarbia. We hypothesize that nebulized fentanyl is
superior to nebulized saline in suppressing cough, respiratory drive, improving
breathlessness or dyspnea with the additional advantage of throat pain relief with minimal
adverse effects in patients with COVID-19.