IN A PREVIOUS STUDY it was found that buprenorphine hydrochloride is a potent analgesic and that severe post-operative pain is relieved appreciably for at least six hours by 0.4 mg or less. 1 This confirmed impressions gained from studies on animals and man currently in progress abroad. 2'3The purpose of this study was to compare the analgesic activity of buprenorphine hydrochloride 0.2 mg and 0.4 mg against each other and also against the usual standard, morphine sulphate 5 mg and 10 mg, each of which was given as a single intramuscular injection following selected major surgical procedures associated with severe post-operative pain. METHODA double-blind randomly assigned comparison was done of four groups of 40 patients, each of whom gave written informed consent agreeing to participate in the evaluation by accepting one intramuscular dose of either buprenorphine (0.2 or 0.4 mg) or morphine (5 or 10 mg) from identical serially numbered vials, if moderate to severe pain occurred in the recovery room after awakening from anaesthesia following abdominal surgery. A patient was admitted to this comparative study provided pre-operative laboratory studies were within normal limits, the investigator agreed that the patient was having severe pain post-operatively and the patient requested medication for the pain. Exclusions were specified to eliminate women of childbearing age, patients undergoing narcotic maintenance treatment or who had a history of tolerance or addiction to analgesic drugs, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery and any patient who had severe disease of vital organs, endocrine disease or haematologic disease. Those who had limited mental competence or difficulty in answering questions at the initial interview were also excluded. Patients excluded from the study received medication for pain according to standard procedures in the recovery room.No other analgesic medication was given to a patient once medicated in the test, unless severe pain was not relieved or unless severe pain recurred within two hours.Pain intensity was scored as 0 = none; 1 = mild; 2 = moderate; 3 = severe; and 4 = very severe. Pain relief was scored as 0 = no relief; 1 = slight relief; 2 = moderate relief; 3 = good relief; and 4 = complete relief. 4-r Scoring was done routinely at 30 minutes and then hourly for six hours. If no additional medication was required, the patient was kept under direct surveillance for 12 hours. Patients From:
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.