Fentanyl is a medication that is prescribed to those with intense pain due to chronic or fatal illnesses. The composition of Fentanyl is similar to morphine and heroin, as it contains a synthetic opiate.

An overdose of Fentanyl will cause symptoms of respiratory depression and eventually respiratory arrest.

In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) issued it’s second warning regarding the misuse of Fentanyl since 2005.

Both patient and doctor error have lead to numerous fatalities through the misuse of Fentanyl. The FDA has only approved the use of Fentanyl for those with chronic pain, who are already accustomed to the use of opioids.

In order for the patient to be accustomed to an opioid, they must have consistently used the medication 24-hours a day for a week or more.

The FDA has been alerted to physicians prescribing Fentanyl to patients with non-chronic pain. Doctors have prescribed Fentanyl to patients suffering from post-surgery pain, migraine headaches and those that have never taken an opioid medication.

Accidental overdoses of Fentanyl have also been linked to frequent application of the pain patches. Another common misuse is from allowing the Fentanyl pain patch to become hot, which increases the delivery of Fentanyl through the skin.

If you or a loved one has suffered serious or fatal illness from misuse of Duragesic or Fentanyl pain patches, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact a Duragesic attorney at Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP at 1-800-460-0606. An experienced Fentanyl attorney will be able to evaluate if you are eligible to seek compensation.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 4:24 pm and is filed under Blogroll, Defective Drugs, Duragesic, Duragesic Patch, Fentanyl, Fentanyl Gel, Fentanyl Patch, Medication, Narcotic, Opioid, Overdose, Pain Management, Pain Reflief, Recall, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.