Abstract: Objective To examine the therapeutic efficacy and adverse events associated with butorphanol during postoperative patient-controlled intravenous analgesia （PCIA）. Methods A total of 240 patients treated by radical surgery to remove malignant tumors in the lymph node basin and abdomen were randomized into 8 groups of 30 patients each. Groups A₁-A₆ performed PCIA with different doses of butorphanol［（1.6，2.0，2.4，2.8，3.2 and 3.6 μg/（kg·h）］. Group B₁ performed PCIA with morphine，while group B₂ received intramuscular injections of morphine. At 24 h after analgesia， self-reported pain assessments were made using the Visual Analogue Scale（VAS），Bruggmann Comfort Scale（BCS）and Ramsay score. Side effects of PCIA were assessed at the same time. Results Groups A₁ and A₂ had significantly higher VAS scores（5.58±0.94 and 5.22±0.86） than group B₂（P＜0.05）and significantly lower BCS scores（1.92±0.92 and 1.79±0.79；P＜0.05）. Conversely，groups A₃-A₆ and group B₁ had lower VAS scores and higher BCS scores than group B₂. Ramsay scores were highest in groups A₅ （3.33±1.28） and A₆（4.13±1.21）. Nausea，vomiting，and abdominal distension occurred to a much lower extent in in groups A₁-A₃ than in the other groups. Incomplete analgesia occurred to a much lower extent in groups A₃-A₆ and B₁ than in groups A₁-A₂. Conclusion Butorphanol shows satisfactory analgesic efficacy in PCIA and is associated with lower incidence of adverse reactions (sedation, nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension) than morphine.

Key words: Neoplasm, Abdominopelvic cavity, Patient controlled butorphanol intravenous analgesia, Butorphanol, Curative effect