Fentanyl Smoking

Despite the limitations imposed by the physiology of the skin, several marketed controUed release transdermal dmg dehvery systems are available in the United States for example, scopolamine [51-34-3] for the treatment of motion sickness, nitroglycerin [55-63-0] for angina, estradiol [50-28-2] for the rehef of postmenopausal symptoms and osteoporosis, clonidine [4205-90-7] for the treatment of hypertension, fentanyl [437-38-7] as an analgesic, and nicotine [54-11-5] as an aid to smoking cessation. These systems are designed to dehver dmg for periods of one to seven days. 

A relatively large number of studies have investigated the effects of opioids on tests requiring focused attention. Morphine (2.5 to 10 mg, IV)185 and propofol (70 mg, IV)193 impaired an auditory simple reaction time test, and fentanyl (1 to 2.5 ng/ml, IV)182 impaired a visual choice reaction time test. Jenkins et al.197 reported that IV (3 to 20 mg) and smoked (2.6 to 10.5 mg) heroin impaired performance on a simple visual reaction time task. However, other studies reported no effect of butorphanol (0.5 to 2.0 mg, IV),186 fentanyl (25 to 100 pg, IV),191 meperidine (0.25 to 1.0 mg, IV),192 and nalbuphine (2.5 to 10 mg, IV)189 on an auditory simple reaction time test. It may be... 

Fentanyl is also available in a patch form (much like a nicotine patch used for smoking cessation) that can also be used for long-term treatment. This form of administration is referred to as transdermal fentanyl and is sold under the trade name Duregasic. The fentanyl is absorbed directly into the skin from the patch and enters the bloodstream, which carries it to the mu receptors. This form of administration appears much easier than it... 

The street versions of fentanyl are ingested in the same ways as heroin. It is usually sold in a powder form and either smoked, snorted, or injected into a vein. Since fentanyl is water-soluble, the powder form can be cold-stirred into a solution and does not need to be boiled like other opioids. However, injection is the most common method used for ingestion on the street. It is so much more potent than heroin that in many of the overdose deaths, the user is found with the needle still in an arm, in some instances with plunger not fully compressed. Some of the designer fentanyl today is made into pill form, but in this form of ingestion, more time elapses before the user feels its effects. 

ABUSE A case report described a 50-year-old female who smoked fentanyl patches and developed pulmonary alveolar proteinosis characterised by 3 months of cough, sputum production and dyspnoea on exertion [33 ]. 

Chapman E, Leipsic J, Satkunam N, Churg A. Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis as a reaction to fentanyl patch smoke. Chest May 2012 141(5) 1321. ... 

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