Parenteral meptazinol--international clinical experience.

Meptazinol is an opioid partial agonist with a potency at a dose of 100 mg similar to that of pethidine, but with a faster onset and shorter duration of action. It is a suitable analgesic for use in the treatment of postoperative, chronic and cancer pain, where its low dependence liability and few prescribing controls are advantageous. Meptazinol has been shown to be effective in the treatment of obstetric pain where it was preferred to pethidine because of its rapid elimination from the neonate. In normal use meptazinol appears to be free from respiratory or cardiovascular depressant actions.