Comparison of Pain Scores in Postoperative Patients: Intravenous Morphine Patient-Controlled Analgesia vs Iontophoretic Transdermal Fentanyl

Postoperative management of pain has traditionally utilized intravenous (IV) morphine for pain control. An alternative approach to the invasive patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system is the administration of transdermal analgesics, such as fentanyl. In 2006 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the fentanyl hydrochloride (fentanyl HCl) iontophoretic transdermal system (ITS), which utilizes iontophoretic technology to produce a controlled electrical current that propels ionized fentanyl molecules into the systemic vasculature. Transdermal fentanyl has been shown to be equivalent or superior to IV morphine PCA in a variety of postoperative settings with patients experiencing decreased pain scores and a favorable side effect profile.