What is it about?
This study evaluates the pharmacology and effects of an opioid delivered through the skin in a cohort of goats enrolled in an orthopedic surgical procedure and compares it to an analgesic that requires multiple administrations.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Fentanyl skin patches provide robust pain relief over 72 hours duration in goats undergoing orthopedic surgery equivalent to buprenorphine which must be administered every 6 hours.
Perspectives
Practical Perspectives: We have been using and evaluating transdermal fentanyl in many of our surgical model species in our program for medical translation. It provides good efficacy and mitigates logistical pressure experienced with buprenorphine which is also very efficacious but requires re-dosing every 6 hours. It is absolutely critical to exercise utmost care and diligence when applying the skin patch. Any "tenting" off the skin will decrease fentanyl transport and result in sub-therapeutic levels. Conversely, increased heat to the fentanyl patch (i.e. in contact with warming pad intra-operative, down leg intra-operative or during recovery from general anesthesia (GA)) will quickly result in supra-physiological levels and clinical signs of fentanyl toxicity (increased recovery time from GA, somnolence, lethargy etc). Removal of the patch and reversing the fentanyl resolves the problem. We then switch these animals over to buprenorphine.
Thomas Schaer
University of Pennsylvania
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Evaluation of the analgesic and pharmacokinetic properties of transdermally administered fentanyl in goats, Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, September 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/vec.12644.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
