Tapentadol is used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain for both acute pain (following injury, surgery, etc.) and chronic musculoskeletal pain. It is also specifically indicated for controlling the pain of diabetic neuropathy when around-the-clock opioid medication is required.
Its general potency is somewhere between that of tramadol and morphine, with an analgesic efficacy comparable to that of oxycodone, with a lower incidence of side effects.
It is being marketed as immediate release oral tablets of 50 mg, 75 mg, and 100 mg.
Tapentadol is a synthetic, centrally acting analgesic with a dual mechanism of action involving mu-opioid receptor agonism and norepinephrine reuptake inhibition. This agent may be effective in the management of pain, cancer-related and other.
