Research Shows Many Patients Were Improperly Prescribed Fentanyl

Fentanyl is a powerful form of opioid given to patients who are suffering from severe pain. The medication is about 100 times more powerful than morphine. A new study shows that a large number of patients who should not have received something so powerful were still prescribed the drug. Researchers examined data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine if regulatory guidance met its goal of preventing inappropriate use of Transmucosal Immediate-Release Fentanyl (TIRF) products, which are indicated solely for breakthrough cancer pain in opioid-tolerant patients. According to findings published Feb. 19 in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, there were multiple failings to monitor the restricted use of fentanyl. First reported by CNN, the researchers found that drugmakers and the FDA failed to monitor the use of the fentanyl drugs established under the guidelines of the FDA program. Evan after the issues were discovered, the researchers noted that “few substantive changes were made.”