Sublingual buprenorphine and pethidine for immediate postoperative pain relief in major gynecologic surgery: a comparative study.

The analgesic effect of sublingual buprenorphine 0.4 mg has been compared with pethidine 1 mg/kg given intramuscularly in 80 patients following major gynecologic operation. The results indicate a slower onset of action for sublingual buprenorphine in the first two hours (p less than 0.001), but it has a much longer duration and is more effective for pain relief (p less than 0.001) than pethidine. The main side-effects were nausea and vomiting which occurred after both treatments but with no significant difference.