A prospective, randomized, double-blind study investigating the efficacy of intranasal meperidine as compared with intravenous (i.v.) administration for postoperative pain relief is described. The study was limited to the initial titration of pain relief during a 2-h period immediately after surgery. Sixty women having undergone a hysterectomy were studied. Initially and when complaining of a pain intensity > or = 40 on the 101-point numerical rating scale (NRS), 30 patients received 6 sprays (27 mg) meperidine intranasally and simultaneously 6 mL NaCl 0.9% i.v. (nasal group); another 30 patients received 6 sprays of NaCl 0.9% intranasally and 6 mL of a diluted meperidine solution (27 mg) i.v. (intravenous group). Patients already having a pain reduction < 40 on the 101-point NRS, received half of the above dose. Meperidine was repeated every 5 min until the patients were pain free or refused further analgesic. Before the onset of meperidine titration and at 5- to 10-min intervals for 2 h thereafter, pain was evaluated with a 101-point NRS and a verbal rating scale. Within 20 and 35 min the pain scores evaluated by the NRS and verbal rating scale decreased in the intravenous and nasal group to a median of zero. The total dose of meperidine was 76.5 mg (range, 40.5-135.0) in the intravenous group and 104.4 mg (range, 27-135.0) in the nasal group (P < 0.05). One patient in each group showed a brief decrease in arterial hemoglobin oxygen saturation to < 90%. No patient complained of pain or burning in the nose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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