Medical Malpractice Due to Fentanyl Overdose
 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid analgesic drug one hundred times more powerful than morphine. Its chemical structure makes it a very fast acting, and short acting pain medication. For that reason, fentanyl used intravenously (by injection) is quickly replacing morphine as a post-operative pain management tool.

What Is a Fentanyl Patch?

Fentanyl also comes in a transdermal patch, much like a nicotine patch, to deliver a continuous stream of the drug through the skin. This allows a patient to receive the benefits of the drug over a 72 hour period, and defeats the drugs natural tendency to “clear” the system quickly. The benefits of the fentanyl transdermal patch for patients with chronic pain, often from terminal cancers, who have developed a tolerance to weaker opiates are impressive.

However, the fentanyl patch is extremely dangerous when prescribed for patients who have not built up a tolerance to opiates. Fentanyl delivered through the skin accumulates in the body, reaching its peak levels 12-24 hours after the patch is first placed. The high levels of fentanyl frequently cause respiratory suppression and death.

Unfortunately, because the fentanyl patch is so effective for chronic pain patients, some doctors will prescribe it in plainly inappropriate circumstances, such as for post-surgical pain, often with devastating results. Chalat Hatten & Koupal PC has a history of handling fentanyl overdose cases. By consulting with local physicians who specialize in pain-management issues, we are working to hold doctors responsible for favoring expediency over patient safety.

What are the Possible Side Effects of the Fentanyl Patch?

Serious side effects include:

• Life-threatening breathing problems
• Low blood pressure. This can make you feel dizzy if you get up too fast from sitting or lying down.

Common side effects with DURAGESIC® (fentanyl transdermal) are nausea, vomiting, constipation, dry mouth, sleepiness, confusion, weakness, sweating, and pain and redness where the patch was applied.

Constipation is a very common side effect of all opioid medicines. Talk to your doctor about the use of laxatives and stool softeners to prevent or treat constipation while taking DURAGESIC® (fentanyl transdermal).

These are not all the possible side effects of DURAGESIC® (fentanyl transdermal) . For a complete list, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Misuse of Fentanyl Patches

The FDA has issued warnings about the fentanyl transdermal system, an adhesive patch that delivers an opioid called fentanyl through the skin. An opioid is a potent pain medicine. It is also sometimes called a narcotic drug. Other examples of opioids include hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone.

The directions on the product label and package insert of the fentanyl transdermal system should be followed exactly in order to avoid overdose. Fentanyl patches should not be used for short-term acute pain, pain that is not constant, or for pain after an operation. The patch is only for moderate-to-severe chronic pain that is expected to last for any number of weeks or longer and that cannot be managed by acetaminophen-opioid combinations, nonsteroidal analgesics, or as-needed dosing with short-acting opioids.

Fentanyl patches are mostly prescribed for patients with cancer. Recent reports to FDA describe deaths and life-threatening side effects after doctors and other health care professionals inappropriately prescribed the patch to relieve pain after surgery, for headaches, or for occasional or mild pain in patients who were not opioid tolerant.

In other cases, patients have used the patch incorrectly. The patients replaced the patch more frequently than directed in the instructions, applied more patches than prescribed, or applied heat to the patch. All of these cases resulted in dangerously high fentanyl levels in the blood.

Read more patient information for fentanyl transdermal patch users.

Read about FDA recalls of fentanyl transdermal patches.