Introduction

Name

• BANM

Class of drug

• Analgesics (mu opioid agonist).

Description

Chemical name

• Alfentanil hydrochloride.

Molecular formula

• 4-anilinopipridine analogue.

Physical properties

• Water soluble.
• Lipid soluble
• pKa - 6.8.

Uses

Indications

Analgesia/profound sedation
EitherAlone for very short procedures, eg radiotherapy.
Orused in conjunction with other anesthetic protocol as part of a balanced anesthesia protocol.

• Augments intraoperative analgesia.
• Decreases the amount of other anesthetics that must be used. 

Ophthalmic anesthesia

• Improved reduction in intra-ocular pressure compared to fentanyl with similar cardiac stability.
  Potent respiratory depressant. Must have facilities for tracheal intubation and IPPV.

Administration

Pharmacokinetics

Precautions

Interactions

with other drugs

• Reduces MAC of halothane by almost 50%.

Adverse Reactions

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.

Other sources of information

• Clinical Anaesthetic Pharmacology, Editors: John W Dundee, R S J Clarke, William McCaughey. Pub: Churchill Livingstone. 1991.
• Martindale: The Extra Pharmacopoeia. The London Pharmaceutical Society. 31st Edition.
• Based on Small Animal Formulary. Tennant, Bryn (1999) 3rd edn. Cheltenham: BSAVA. ISBN: 0 905214 44 7