New Analgesics

I. METHODS IN THE CLINICAL EVALUATION OF NEW ANALGESICS The increasing number of synthetic narcotics emphasizes the need for systematizing the methods of evaluating these new drugs in terms that will make possible comparisons in different clinics.1Our experience with the method here presented covers a period of three years spent on the clinical appraisal of methadone and its isomers. Our purpose is threefold: (1) to present the major problems involved in the clinical appraisal of new analgesics, (2) to outline the methods by which we have attempted to solve these problems and (3) to point out the pitfalls in our method with suggestions for improvement. In short, our purpose is to set down in general terms a plan for the clinical evaluation of any new analgesics. THE PROBLEMS The clinical evaluation of any new analgesics involves two major groups of problems, immediate and delayed. Immediate Problems.— There