Figure 1
From: The place for short-acting opioids: special emphasis on remifentanil
Context-sensitive half-times of remifentanil and the other 4-anilido-piperidine opioids. Remifentanil has a context-sensitive half-time of 3 to 4 minutes, regardless of the duration of infusion, whereas continuous infusion of the other opioids results in accumulation and considerable prolongation of effect, making these opioids intermediate-acting or long-acting agents, depending on the duration of infusion. Figure adapted with permission from Egan TD, Lemmens HJ, Fiset P, Hermann DJ, Muir KT, Stanski DR, Shafer SL: The pharmacokinetics of the new short-acting opioid remifentanil (GI87084B) in healthy adult male volunteers. Anesthesiology 1993, 79:881–892.