Sublingual sufentanil for postoperative pain relief: first clinical experiences

Fleur Meijer,1 Petra Cornelissen,2 Corina Sie,3 Michel Wagemans,4 Anja Mars,5 Tiny Hobma,1,6 Marieke Niesters,1 Albert Dahan,1 J Seppe Koopman,6 Monique AH Steegers2 1Department of Anesthesiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands; 2Department of Anesthesiology Pain and Palliative Medicine, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; 3Department of Anesthesiology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; 4Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Reinier de Graaf Hospital, Delft, the Netherlands; 5Department of Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Service, Alrijne Hospital, Leiderdorp, the Netherlands; 6Department of Anesthesiology, Maasstad Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Background: The sublingual sufentanil tablet system (SSTS) is a novel hand-held patient-controlled analgesia device developed for treatment of moderate-to-severe postoperative pain. Here we present the first results of its clinical use. Methods: Adult patients undergoing major surgery in five hospitals in the Netherlands received the SSTS for postoperative pain relief as part of multimodal pain management that further included paracetamol and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). The following variables were collected: postoperative pain scores using the 11-point numerical rating score (NRS) at rest, number of tablets used, occurrence of nausea, and patient satisfaction scores. Results: We included 280 patients in the study; the majority underwent laparoscopic abdominal (49%) or orthopedic (knee replacement) surgery (34%). The median NRS was 3.5 (interquartile range 2.3–4.0) on the day of surgery, 3.3 (2.3–4.0) on the first postoperative day, and 2.8 (2.0–4.0) on the second postoperative day; pain scores did not differ between surgery types. Mean number of tablets used was 19 (range 0–86). Nausea occurred in 34% of patients, more often in women (45% vs 19%). Overall satisfaction was high in 73% of patients. Satisfaction was correlated with pain relief (p