Van Tittelboom V, Poelaert R, Malbrain MLNG, et al. - Researchers conducted this prospective, open-label, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and side effects of a patient-controlled sublingual sufentanil tablet system for postoperative analgesia after cardiac surgery and to contrast it to a nurse-controlled continuous morphine infusion. The sample consisted of adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery, which included a sternotomy. In total, 483 cardiac surgery patients were screened for eligibility, 64 of whom completed the study. No statistically significant differences have been found for baseline characteristics between both groups. There were no variations between the two groups (secondary outcomes) in the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, sedation, hypoventilation, bradycardia, or hypotension. A patient-controlled sublingual sufentanil tablet system provides sufficient analgesia after cardiac surgery and decreases opioid intake compared with continuous morphine infusion despite resulting in statistically significantly higher pain scores.