Infusion analgesia for acute war injuries. A comparison of pentazocine and ketamine.

Continuous intravenous infusions of ketamine and pentazocine have been used to provide analgesia in 18 patients with acute war injuries. The drugs were given alternately. Both drugs produced effective pain relief, but the quality of analgesia was superior following pentazocine because of its sedative properties. Arterial blood pressure and respiratory rate were maintained following ketamine but tended to fall after pentazocine. It is suggested that ketamine would be the better agent in patients with hypovolaemia or respiratory depression.