Developments in the treatment of cancer pain in Finland: the third nation-wide survey.

This survey was designed to investigate the current status of the management of cancer pain in Finland. In 1995 a questionnaire was randomly sent to 5% (n = 546) of Finnish physicians, excluding specialists not expected to treat cancer patients. Two previous surveys, using the same questionnaire, were conducted in 1985 and 1990 by Vainio.

Pharmacokinetic comparison of intravenous and intranasal administration of oxycodone.

Background: For patients with chronic pain, treatment with oral analgesics is considered most convenient and feasible. Sometimes, however, the oral route cannot be used because of difficulties with swallowing, nausea, vomiting and gastrointestinal obstruction. To investigate the applicability of the nasal route for the administration of oxycodone, we studied the intravenous and intranasal pharmacokinetics of oxycodone in healthy volunteers.