title: A review of sufentanil and the sufentanil sublingual tablet system for acute moderate to severe pain.
abstract: The sufentanil sublingual tablet system (SSTS) is a novel patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system that is pending approval from the US FDA for the management of moderate to severe acute pain in hospitalized patients. SSTS offers a noninvasive alternative to intravenous (iv.) PCA and optimized on-demand analgesia with the rapid onset and titratibility of sublingual sufentanil. Phase III clinical trials have demonstrated that SSTS has greater efficacy for the treatment of pain during the 72-h postoperative period after open abdominal and major orthopedic (total knee or total hip arthroplasty) surgery compared with iv. PCA with morphine sulfate (MS) or a placebo system. Safety assessments indicate that adverse events are typical for postoperative patients taking opioid analgesics. While the frequency of adverse events is comparable between patients using SSTS and iv. PCA MS, the incidence of oxygen desaturation is lower in those using SSTS.
authors.forename: Harold S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Minkowitz
mesh_terms: D059787:Acute Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000286:Administration, Sublingual; D016058:Analgesia, Patient-Controlled / Q000379:methods; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D001682:Biological Availability; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000209:etiology; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004347:Drug Interactions; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D017409:Sufentanil / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D013607:Tablets; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D013607:Tablets; D017409:Sufentanil
keywords: acute postoperative pain; opioid; pain management; patient-controlled analgesia; sublingual administration; sufentanil