Pentazocine— A New Nonaddicting Analgesic

Abstract

A double-blind study comparing single intramuscular doses of pentazocine, 30 mg, and meperidine hydrochloride, 50 or 100 mg, in a total of 219 postoperative male patients revealed no significant difference between the degree and duration of analgesia following administration of pentazocine and either 50 mg or 100 mg of meperidine hydrochloride. A slightly greater percentage of patients experienced pain relief after 100-mg doses of meperidine hydrochloride. Pentazocine is revealed as a clinically useful analgesic for postoperative pain, with side effects neither more numerous nor serious than those of meperidine hydrochloride at comparable analgesic doses. Both drugs produce moderate reduction of respiratory rates, compensatory increases in tidal volume, and no important changes in minute volume. The sedative effect of pentazocine is apparently less than that of meperidine hydrochloride.