Abstract
The analgesic effect of orally administered pentazocine in 32 patients with cancer pain was studied retrospectively. Analyzed data included the daily dosage of pentazocine, the change in pain score during the administration, the administration period, and side effects. The average initial dose and maintenance dose of pentazocine were 92.2mg/day and 135.2mg/day, respectively. The pain scores before, during and at the end of the administration of pentazocine were 76.3mm, 23.0mm, and 41.6mm respectively. The average administration period of pentazocine was 32.0 days. Although 11 of the 32 patients had their pain controlled sufficiently by pentazocine alone, 16 patients were changed from pentazocine to morphine, and the remaining patients were changed to other therapy including oral codeine, splanchnic ganglion block or surgery, because of the insufficient analgesic effect of pentazocine. Side effects including nausea, vertigo and drowsiness were seen in 12 patients, but these were controlled by decreasing the dose of pentazocine. These data suggest that oral pentazocine can be a useful therapeutic method for the management of cancer pain.
