What is the purpose of Sufentanil (A drug)?

[jakebarrington]

I was reading about a drug called "Sufentanil" today. Apparently this substance is 500-1,000 times more potent than morphine. Why would anybody need to use this? Wouldn't this kill a human being?

Basic Info -

Generic Name: Sufentanil

Brand Name: Sufenta

Formula: C₂₂H₃₀N₂O₂S

Structure:

[Knumbnuts]

It is only administered under the supervision of health care professionals and is an analgesic.

[jakebarrington]

It is only administered under the supervision of health care professionals and is an analgesic.

But wouldn't morphine do the trick? Honestly why would someone need a drug 1,000 times stronger than morphine?

[Knumbnuts]

The main use of this medication is in operating suites and critical care where pain relief is required for a short period of time. It also offers properties of sedation and this makes it a good analgesic component.

You need a much higher dose of morphine for the same effect.

I was on morphine for pain treatment, after a while I developed a tolerance to it and had to change to Fentaynl. None of these drugs are very pleasant whatsoever.

[Caffeinated Chemist]

Just because a substance is potent doesn't mean it is dangerous. It just means that it has a lower threshold of effect. If anything, I would think it would be safer than morphine because less is needed for the same effect.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Caffeinated Chemist

[Bromo_DragonFly]

Caffenated chemist is right.

also the lower the effecting-Dose is the better because it's almost a rule between drugs : "Lower doses = lower side effects".

drugs with lower effecting-dose are more selective in body that's why it means lower SE.

[John Cuthber]

If it is the same price to make a gram of it, but you need a thousand ties less, then it will be cheaper.

Also, if you need to find a painkiller for an elephant (ten times or a hundred times heavier than a human), this stuff might be easier to carry.

[ewmon]

The medical community compares a medicine's analgesic effect to morphine (used as a "benchmark"), which doesn't mean that it can simply substitute for morphine, even if diluted or concentrated appropriately. For example, think of the extremely unhealthy — probably lethal — amount (for a person's liver and kidneys) of paracetamol/acetaminophen/Tylenol that a person must take as a substitute for morphine.

 

Potency is just one characteristic, and because sufentanil differs chemically from morphine, it has different characteristics other than potency. Medicines involve something called ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion). Any or all of these characteristics are probably different for sufentanil compared to morphine.

 

And there's also side effects to consider.

[clubcard]

Importantly, it's metabolised by the kidneys & not the liver.

 

FYI it has an AMAZING therapeutic index (~25,000 in animal studies), the highest of any commercial opioid. Still, operating suite only and the guy (or gal) at the head of the table with a steady hand & good reactions.

[daphne2013]

Because sufentanil can cause neonatal respiratory depression, so during childbirth or before cesarean section cut baby's umbilical cord, cannot use in intravenous. Not for newborns, pregnant or lactating women. If lactating women must use sufentanil, should be after 24 hours can breastfeeding baby again.