Dosing of Continuous Fentanyl Infusions in Obese Children: A Population Pharmacokinetic Analysis

Differences in fentanyl pharmacokinetics (PK) between obese and nonobese adults have previously been reported; however, the impact of childhood obesity on fentanyl PK is relatively unknown. We developed a population pharmacokinetic (PopPK) model using opportunistically collected samples from a cohort of predominately obese children receiving fentanyl per the standard of care. Our analysis included 32 participants ranging in age and weight from 2-19 years and 16-164 kg, respectively.

Using our developed population pharmacokinetic model, we created a rational strategy for dosing fentanyl via continous intravenous infusion in obese children that maximizes the probability of achieving steady-state plasma concentrations within an analgesic concentration range (1-3 ng/mL). The manuscript was published in The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.


Maharaj, A. R., Wu, H., Zimmerman, K. O., Speicher, D. G., Sullivan, J. E., Watt, K., Al‐Uzri, A., Payne, E. H., Erinjeri, J., Lin, S., Harper, B., Melloni, C., & Hornik, C. P. (2019). Dosing of Continuous Fentanyl Infusions in Obese Children: A Population Pharmacokinetic Analysis. The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcph.1562