The use of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) for the treatment of intractable pain in surgical patients

Experience was presented with the use of dimethylsulfoxide in 37 patients with intractable pain seen in surgical practice. Pain in all of these patients had been present for longer than one year and did not respond well to conventional therapy. Included among these patients were 11 with postamputation phantom pain, 11 with tic douloureux, 10 with posttraumatic intractable pain, and 5 with postoperative intractable pain. Thirty-two of the 37 patients in this series demonstrated marked pain relief and no serious toxicity was seen. A brief review of the known pharmacology and animal toxicity of DMSO has been presented.