Noninterventional Study of Transdermal Fentanyl (Fentavera) Matrix Patches in Chronic Pain Patients: Analgesic and Quality of Life Effects

Table 1

Conversion table for deriving the starting dosage of transdermal fentanyl from the prior daily oral dosage of opioid (expressed as morphine oral dosage equivalence).

Morphine oral dosage equivalence (mg per 24 hours)		Required transdermal fentanyl dosage; (μg per hour)
Patients needing opioid rotation [43]	Patients on stable, well-tolerated; opioid treatment
<44	<60	12.5
45–134	60–89	25
135–224	90–149	50
225–314	150–209	75
315–404	210–269	100
405–494	270–329	125
495–584	330–389	150
585–674	390–449	175
675–764	450–509	200
765–854	510–569	225
855–944	570–629	250
945–1034	630–689	275
1035–1124	690–749	300

For opioid-naïve patients, the starting dose of transdermal fentanyl was 25 μg/hour; for patients who are not on opioid rotation but simply switching from oral to transdermal opioid treatment.