Levorphanol
Pronunciation:lee-VOR-fa-nohl
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:77-07-6. (Tartrate anhydrous form
125-72-4; tartrate dihydrate form 5985-38-6)
Formal Names:Levo-Dromoran
Type:Depressant (opioid class).Seepage 24
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule II (DEA no. 9220)
USA Availability:Prescription
Pregnancy Category:C
Uses.Unlike many pain relievers, levorphanol’s oral formulation has an
effectiveness almost as good as the intravenous version. An animal experiment
demonstrated the drug can work when simply rubbed on an area of the skin
that is hurting; that capability is an asset because it avoids the necessity of
having the substance circulate through the entire body when only a particular
spot needs treatment. Even severe pain can be successfully treated with the
drug, which is used for conditions ranging from surgery to cancer. Studies
have likened it tofentanyl,meperidine, andmorphine. Levorphanol is con-
sidered 4 to 15 times stronger than morphine. Pain control doses of levor-
phanol take effect at about the same speed as morphine but last longer.
Prolonged administration of morphine can reverse pain relief action and in-
stead increase discomfort, while at the same time causing muscle spasms;
morphine patients can be switched to levorphanol to avoid those outcomes.
Drawbacks.Levorphanol can cause dangerous and even fatal breathing dif-
ficulty. For that reason medical personnel are supposed to carefully adjust
dosage to a patient’s individual needs rather than depend upon customary
amounts of the drug being safe. It is supposed to be used with special caution
in patients with asthma, low thyroid function, urinary difficulty, or an en-
larged prostate. Wariness is also prudent when using the substance to reduce
heart pain, because the drug’s influence on cardiac function has not been con-
firmed. The substance can lower blood pressure and may produce nausea,
vomiting, and constipation. Levorphanol can make users woozy and harm
skills needed for operating a car or other dangerous machinery. Although
levorphanol is a depressant in humans, it increases leg activity in ponies—an
effect that may not have escaped notice by persons seeking ways to improve
the animals’ performance in races.