Alfentanil

Alfentanil (trade name Alfenta) is a potent but short-acting synthetic opioid analgesic drug, used for anaesthesia in surgery. It is an analogue of fentanyl with 10-20% the potency of fentanyl. It is an OP3 mu-agonist.

While alfentanil tends to cause less cardiovascular complications than other similar drugs such as fentanyl and remifentanil it tends to give stronger respiratory depression and so requires careful monitoring of breathing and vital signs. Alfentanil is administered by the parenteral (injected) route for fast onset of effects and precise control of dosage.

Alfentanil is a restricted drug which is classified as Schedule II in the USA, according to the U.S. DEA website.

Alfentanil was discovered at Janssen Pharmaceutica in 1976.