Papers of the Week

Pentazocine, a synthetic opioid with partial agonist and antagonist activity administered by parenteral injection, was used clinically in the 1970s. Dermatologic complications at injection sites were reported soon after its introduction. These complications are thought to be underreported. Many well-documented cases describe the development of fibrosis and calcinosis at the site of parenteral pentazocine injections, but few reports document management or successful treatment of the long-term sequelae of these manifestations.