ReviewNeuropharmacology2019
Respiratory depression and brain hypoxia induced by opioid drugs: Morphine, oxycodone, heroin, and fentanyl.
Review in Neuropharmacology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
97 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 182 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neurocognitive impairments and brain abnormalities resulting from opioid-related overdoses: A systematic review.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Pooled it
- Conscious analgesia with oxycodone improves the efficacy and safety in patients at high risk of aspiration during gastroscopy: a randomized double-blind trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Trial
- Comparison of the effects of esketamine/midazolam and remifentanil/midazolam on respiratory mechanics in mechanically ventilated patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.BMC anesthesiology · 2025Trial
- Comparison of Esketamine/Propofol and Sufentanil/Propofol on Intraoperative Hypoxemia During Bronchoscopy: A Randomized Trial.Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Trial
- Dezocine as preemptive analgesia alleviates ultrapulse COJournal of cosmetic dermatology · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Brain-based measures of nociception during general anesthesia with remifentanil: A randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2022Trial
- Efficiency and safety: comparison between preoperative analgesia and postoperative analgesia using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in patients receiving arthroscopic knee surgery in a multicenter, randomized, controlled study.Inflammopharmacology · 2021Trial
- Alkaloids as Emerging Neuroprotective Agents for Neurodegenerative Disorders: Insights into Tryptanthrin and Its Derivatives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Fentanyl decreases arterial blood oxygen saturation more than furanylfentanyl in mice due to increased apnea.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Comparison of PECS I Block and Local Anesthetic Infiltration for Pain Management in Breast Augmentation: A Prospective, Split-Body Study.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2026Article
- Carfentanil Depresses Inspiratory Motor Drive.Journal of substance abuse and alcoholism · 2026Article
- Early axonal injury in fentanyl intoxication.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2026Article
- Effect of Overdose-Induced Hypoxia on Neurocognitive Performance in Individuals With Opioid Dependence: A Prospective Multicenter Study.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Article
- Economic and epidemiological burden of medical complications of unregulated drug use among people who inject drugs in Québec.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2026Article
- Fentanyl decreases blood oxygen more than furanylfentanyl despite similar effects on breathing.Research square · 2026Article
- United States healthcare encounters for poisoning involving cannabis relative to other substances.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2026Article
- Effects of Intravenous Bolus Injection of Fentanyl on Phrenic Nerve Activity and Its Response to Hypoxia and Hypercapnia.Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology research · 2026Article
- Fentanyl-induced cortical and cardiopulmonary damage linked to immune response functions and apoptosis-necrosis networks in a multi-omics mouse model.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Exploratory analysis of pharmacist involvement in motivational interviewing intervention for patients with prescription opioid misuse behaviors.JAPhA practice innovations · 2026Article
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Opioid drugs are important tools to alleviate pain of different origins, but they have strong addictive potential and their abuse at higher doses often results in serious health complications. Respiratory depression that leads to brain hypoxia is perhaps the most dangerous symptom of acute intoxication with opioids, and it could result in lethality. The development of substrate-specific sensors coupled with amperometry made it possible to directly evaluate physiological and drug-induced fluctuations in brain oxygen levels in awake, freely-moving rats. The goal of this review paper is to consider changes in brain oxygen levels induced by several opioid drugs (heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, morphine). While some of these drugs are widely used in clinical practice, they all are abused, often at doses exceeding the clinical range and often resulting in serious health complications. First, we consider some basic knowledge regarding brain oxygen, its physiological fluctuations, and mechanisms involved in regulating its entry into brain tissue. Then, we present and discuss data on brain oxygen changes induced by each opioid drug within a wide range of doses, from low, behaviorally relevant, to high, likely to be self-administered by drug users. These data allowed us to compare the effects of these drugs on brain oxygen in terms of their potency, time-course, and their potential danger when used at high doses via rapid-onset administration routes. While most data discussed in this work were obtained in rats, we believe that these data have clear human relevance in addressing the alarming rise in lethality associated with the opioid abuse.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.