Abstral Fentanyl Sublingual Tablet 400mcg

Description

Abstral Fentanyl Sublingual Tablet 400mcg

Abstral is supplied as a sublingual tablet designed for oral administration. The recommended initial dose of the drug is a single 100 mcg tablet. If adequate analgesia is obtained within 30 minutes of administration of the 100 mcg tablet, continue to treat subsequent episodes of breakthrough pain with this dose. If adequate analgesia is not obtained after the initial dose, the patient may use a second Abstral dose (after 30 minutes) as directed by their health care provider. No more than two doses of Abstral may be used to treat an episode of breakthrough pain. Patients must wait at least 2 hours before treating another episode of breakthrough pain. The Abstral dose should be escalated in a stepwise manner, increased by 100 mcg multiples up to 400 mcg, over consecutive breakthrough episodes until adequate analgesia with tolerable side effects is achieved.

Clinical Results

The FDA approval of Abstral was based on a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study in 131 subjects experiencing breakthrough cancer pain. Breakthrough cancer pain was defined as a transient flare of moderate-to-severe pain occurring in patients experiencing persistent cancer pain otherwise controlled with maintenance doses of opioid medications. Of the 131 subjects who entered the titration phase of the study, 78 (60%) achieved a successful dose during the titration phase. Sixty-six patients entered the double-blind phase and 60 completed the study. The primary outcome measure, the mean sum of pain intensity difference at 30 minutes (SPID30) for Abstral-treated episodes was statistically significantly higher than for placebo-treated episodes. In a second open-label safety study using an identical titration regimen, 96 of 139 patients (69%) who entered the study titrated to a dose in which the patient obtained adequate analgesia with tolerable side effects during the titration phase.

Mechanism of Action

Abstral is a sublingual tablet formulation of fentanyl citrate, a potent opioid analgesic. The precise mechanism of the analgesic action is unknown although fentanyl is known to be a µ-opioid receptor agonist. Specific CNS opioid receptors for endogenous compounds with opioid-like activity have been identified throughout the brain and spinal cord and play a role in the analgesic effects of this drug.