Analgesic Effect of Fortral (Pentazocine) in Acute Intermittent Porphyria

Abstract

Five patients, all suffering severe abdominal pain in acute intermittent porphyria, were admitted to an investigation of the analgesic effect of Fortral (pentazocine) in this condition. A single dose of Fortral was given daily to each patient at the time of severe abdominal pain and an attempt was made to use the smallest possible dose to achieve an analgesic effect. The analgesic effect produced was considered good in two cases and excellent in the remaining three cases. Pain ceased or decreased to a great extent within ten to twenty minutes of administration of Fortral. The drug appeared to act as rapidly when given orally as when given by intramuscular injection. The analgesic effect persisted from two to six hours, with an average of four hours. In the doses of 50 mg three patients demonstrated side-effects which could be avoided by dividing the single dose into smaller ones.

Anesthetic implications in porphyrias

“…Among nonopioid drugs, aspirin, paracetamol, indomethacin, and naproxen are considered safe [37]. Although data about pentazocine are controversial, Rudowski and colleagues achieved rapid and safe analgesia in five patients suffering from abdominal pain in the acute porphyria crisis [38].…”