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Kast EC, Collins VJ.
“Lysergic acid diethylamide as an analgesic agent”.
Anesth. Analg. Curr. Res. 1964;43:285-291.
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Abstract
An ideal analgesic agent has not been yet discovered. The criteria for such an analgesic would be: to give relief from pain, offer no impairment of the senorium, maintain interest in life, have no unpleasant side effects, and be long lasting and effective in a high percent of cases. In the quest for such a remedy, we explored the analgesic action of lysergic acid diethylamide LSD-25, an ergot derivative which as a number of psychic effects in humans. This is a preliminary report on the analgesic action of LSD-25.
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We felt it would be appropriate to assess its analgesic value in gravely ill patients who complain of severe intolerable pain. We selected 50 gravely ill patients with the following diagnoses: cancer of the breast with metastasis, 10; herpes zoster with severe burn, 1; cancer of the cervix with metastasis, 13; gangrene of the foot or leg, 10; cancer of the pancreas with metastasis, 2; cancer of the pancreas, 2; cancer of the liver, 2; cancer of the tonsils and larynx with metastasis, 4; cancer of the lung with metastasis, 6.
We administered dihydromorphinone HCl, 2mg, and meperidine HCl, 100mg, in double blind fashion. Upon complaint of pain, the patient recieved either drug initially. Upon the subsequent complaint of pain and at least 6 hours later, the patient received the other drug in a randomized design. At least 6 hours after the second administration and upon the complaint of pain, the patient received 100mcg. of LSD-25. The patients were observed after each administration for 3 hours, at 20 minute intervals. After the LSD-25 administration and after 3 hours, the patients were observed indefinitely, at 6 hour intervals. We rated the degree of pain in four categories, mild, moderate, severe, and very severe.
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The administration of LSD-25 is an innocuous procedure from a medical standpoint. All patients in this study were gravely ill, and some were preterminal, and yet no medical complication was encountered. The incidence of hallucinations was considerably less than reported for the population in general, probably because these patients were intensively preoccupied with their own disease processes. In addition to pain relief, these patients displayed a peculiar disregard for the gravity of their situations, and talked freely about their impending death with an affect considered inappropriate in our western civilization, but most beneficial to their own psychic states.
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Dihydromorphinone compared favorably with meperidine in the intensity and length of analgesic action, and LSD-25 showed a protracted and more effective action than either of the other drugs.
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