Meperidine and morphine as intravenous surgical premedicants.

Morphine 5 mg and 10 mg and meperidine 50 mg and 100 mg were studied as intravenous surgical premedicants in 160 patients. Relief of anxiety, sedation, lack of recall and side effects were the variables evaluated. Neither morphine nor meperidine proved to be particularly good surgical premedicants. There appeared to be no significant differences between the two drugs, but what differences there were tended to favor meperidine.