AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ANALGESIC EFFICACY OF ORAL PENTAZOCINE

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A double-blind, between-patient, single-dose study was performed on patients who had undergone abdominal or thoracic surgery. Two dose levels of oral pentazocine, 50 mg and 70 mg, were compared with a lactose placebo, and an assessment of analgesia was made after 2 hours. No attempt was made to assess the duration of analgesia or the time of peak activity. The results show a statistically significant difference between the active drug and the placebo, and suggest that there is a linear trend to better analgesia with increasing dosage; the side effects also become more frequent as the dose increases, but these were of a minor character, mainly sedation, and no psvchotomimetic side effects were seen. It is concluded that oral pentazocine represents a useful addition to the analgesic range, and its freedom from narcotic control should encourage the use of the drug for chronic pain.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: