(Image courtesy of Medtronic)
Preliminary results from a new Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) study pinpoint a greater-than-previously measured rate of respiratory depression in patients receiving IV opioids for pain.
The prospective, observational Prodigy study, which analyzed 1,335 patients across 16 sites in the U.S., Europe and Asia, found that respiratory depression, as defined by changes in pulse oximetry and capnography monitoring parameters, occurred in 46% of medical and surgical patients evaluated who were receiving IV opioids for pain.
This incidence rate is significantly higher than previously reported in clinical literature, according to the company. The complete study results are published online in Anesthesia and Analgesia, the journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.
Opioid-induced respiratory depression is a potentially life-threatening form of respiratory compromise that …