Background The use of fentanyl as a potent analgesic is contradicted by marked respiratory
depression among a subpopulation of patients. The commonly used approach of reversing
fentanyl-induced respiratory depression with mu-opiate receptor antagonists such as
naloxone has the undesirable effect of blocking analgesia. Here, the authors report a
clinically feasible pharmacological solution for countering fentanyl-induced respiratory
depression via a mechanism that does not interfere with analgesia. Specifically, to …