Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 23, 596-600, Copyright © 1976 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

Butorphanol Tartrate: 1. Safety and Efficacy in Multidose Control of Postoperative Pain

¹ Department of Anesthesiology, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, State University Hospital, Syracuse, New York, 13210, U.S.A.

Butorphanol tartrate is a potent synthetic analgesic. It was administered to 150 consenting patients with severe pain after recovery from anaesthesia. Three dose levels were used and the initial dose was based on the size and physical condition of the patient. The drug was subsequently repeated, as requested by the patients, for 12 to 18 hours following major surgery. Each patient was kept under direct surveillance by trained observers during the course of this study and the pain relief medication was evaluated for efficacy and safety. Ten patients requested a change of medication after their initial treatment, usually because pain relief was said to be inadequate, and two subjects may have developed behavioural disturbances that we related to multiple doses of butorphanol tartrate, but which could have been due to the fear of a lethal lesion. None of the patients developed appreciable changes in vital signs due to the analgesic.

We have concluded that this analgesic is safe and that it is as efficacious as equipotent doses of morphine and pentazocine, with a similar duration of action. It is therefore worthy of further evaluation since its propensity to causing addiction and respiratory depression is low.

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From the Department of Anesthesiology, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, State University Hospital, Syracuse, New York, 13210, U.S.A.