[Therapeutic effect of nalorphine and naloxone in experimental traumatic shock]

In their acute experiments on 86 rabbits the authors have established that the intravenous administration of nalorphine and naloxone produces a marked therapeutic effect only during the early period of experimental traumatic shock. In most of the animals there was a reliable extension of the lifetime (nalorphine) and an increase in the survival rate (naloxone). In a lesser part of the animals the administration of nalorphine had no considerable influence on the outcomes. During the late period the therapeutic effect of these drugs has not yet been manifested. A conclusion has been made that the contradictory data in the literature concerning the effect of nalorphine and naloxone on the course of experimental traumatic shock seem to depend on the fact that they were administered at various stages of this pathologic process. It is pointed out that it is advisable to administer these drugs (especially naloxone) at the pre-hospital stage in the patients with traumatic shock.