Side Effects With Use of Oral Transmucosal Fentanyl

Clearly the debate over administering drugs to children in the form of candy will rage on, as excellently discussed in the recent article by Schecter et al1 and the accompanying editorial by Yaster.2 I however, had several concerns about the reporting of side effects in the mentioned article. The incidences of certain side effects were: pruritis (65%), nausea and vomiting (31%), and nausea alone (12%). However, the incidences may have been greater depending on the denominator used in the calculation.