Respiratory depression is a common side effect, but is subject to a ceiling effect, such that at a certain dose the degree of respiratory depression will no longer increase with dose increases. Likewise rarely it has been associated with agranulocytosis, erythema multiforme and toxic epidermal necrolysis. Tissue damage at injection sites
Severe injection site necrosis and sepsis has occurred (sometimes requiring amputation of limb) with multiple injection of pentazocine lactate. In addition, animal studies have demonstrated that Pentazocine is tolerated less well subcutaneously than intramuscularly. History
Pentazocine was developed by the Sterling Drug Company, Sterling-Winthrop Research Institute, of Rensselaer, New York. The analgesic compound was first made at Sterling in 1958. U.S. testing was conducted between 1961 and 1967.It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June 1967 after being favorably reviewed following testing on 12,000 patients in the United States. By mid 1967 Pentazocine was already being sold in Mexico, England, and Argentina, under different trade names. Society and culture
Legal status
Pentazocine was originally unclassified under the Controlled Substances Act. A petition was filed with the Drug Enforcement Administration on October 1, 1971, to shift it to Schedule III. The petition was filed by Joseph L. Fink III, a pharmacist and law student at Georgetown University Law Center as part of the course Lawyering in the Public Interest. That petition was accepted for review on November 10, 1971. D.E.A. published a Final Rule transferring it to schedule IV on January 10, 1979, with an effective date of February 9, 1979.
This inhibition prevents the conversion of lanosterol to ergosterol, an essential component of the fungal cytoplasmic membrane, and subsequent accumulation of 14α-methyl sterols. Fluconazole is primarily fungistatic; however, it may be fungicidal against certain organisms in a dose-dependent manner, specifically Cryptococcus. Pharmacokinetics
Following oral dosing, fluconazole is almost completely absorbed within two hours. Bioavailability is not significantly affected by the absence of stomach acid. Concentrations measured in the urine, tears, and skin are approximately 10 times the plasma concentration, whereas saliva, sputum, and vaginal fluid concentrations are approximately equal to the plasma concentration, following a standard dose range of between 100 mg and 400 mg per day. The elimination half-life of fluconazole follows zero order, and only 10% of elimination is due to metabolism, the remainder being excreted in urine and sweat. Patients with impaired renal function will be at risk of overdose.In a bulk powder form, it appears as a white crystalline powder, and it is very slightly soluble in water and soluble in alcohol. History
Fluconazole was patented by Pfizer in 1981 in the United Kingdom and came into commercial use in 1988. Patent expirations occurred in 2004 and 2005. References
External links
"Fluconazole". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Doi : Evolution of Fluconazole-Resistant Candida albicans Strains by Drug-Induced Mating Competence and Parasexual Recombination