INTRODUCTION The term narcotic has had wide and inconsistent usage in lay, legal and scientific circles. Some use the word to characterize any drug which produces stupor, insensibility or sleep; many apply it only to derivatives of the opium plant ( `opiates'); others consider the term equivalent to 'addiction-producing'; and in legal matters, 'narcotics' may refer to almost any allegedly dange...

Patients with rheumatic conditions often suffer from related chronic pain. When first-line traditional medications such as acetaminophen and anti-inflammatory medications do not suffice, then other options are needed. The traditional medications may ultimately not provide sufficient pain relief, or alternatively, they can pose as a contraindication due to underlying hypertension, renal, and/or ...

Forty-one patients undergoing outpatient anaesthesia and operation were studied. Nineteen received inhalation agents. Twenty-two received narcotics. Up to one hour post-operatively, patients who received inhalation anaesthesia performed significantly better than did those who received narcotics. After 60 minutes there was no significant difference between the two groups. It is suggested that na...