Use of Fentanyl Patch in Partial Doses Than the Original
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2016-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Fentanyl is considered a potent synthetic opioid widely used in anesthesiology, for short and
long-term pain management, and for sedation. The fentanyl patch is constructed like a matrix,
a system based on a polyacrylate net with fentanyl that attaches directly onto the skin. The
doses available today are from 12µg/h, 25, 50, 75, to 100 µg/h. Despite the variable doses
available, often in certain patients as the elderly or children, there is a need for slower
titration than the 12 µg/h currently available.
In this study, the investigators aim to evaluate pain control and to examine the blood
fentanyl concentration of patients on a fix dose of fentanyl patch up to 100 µg/h every two
or three days, and compare it with pain control and concentration levels obtained from a
similar dose patch, but after cutting the patch into two.
The study will take place at the pain clinic of Clalit Health Services-South District
(CHS-SD), and the Negev home palliative care unit. In CHS-SD there are approximately 300
patients treated regularly with opioids and about 120 patients in the home palliative care
unit. A sample of 95 patients will be recruited. Once consent form is signed, blood samples
will be collected twice: 1. At the time of the visit; 2. After 144 hours (about 6 days) from
the first sample, and at least 36 hours after replacing the cut patch. Pain management will
be evaluated at both visits using the Brief Pain Inventory (Hebrew version) - BPI
questionnaire, and rescue doses used before and after the cutting of the patch. The blood
samples will be transferred to the laboratory for testing of fentanyl concentration levels.