Description |
Dextropropoxyphene is an analgesic in the opioid category, patented (1955) and manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company. It is intended to treat mild pain and also has antitussive and local anaesthetic effects. The drug has been taken off the market in Europe and the US due to concerns of fatal overdoses and heart arrhythmias. An estimated 10 million patients have used these products.
The drug is often referred to as the general form, "propoxyphene", however only the dextro-isomer (dextropropoxyphene) has any analgesic effect. The levo-isomer appears to exhibit a very limited antitussive effect.
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