Table 6. Routes of Administration To Be Avoided for Treatment of Cancer Pain
| Routes of Administration | Rationale for Not Recommending |
| Intramuscular | Painful. |
| Absorption unreliable. | |
| Should not be used in children or patients prone to develop dependent edema or patients with thrombocytopenia. | |
| Transnasal | The only drug approved by the FDA for transnasal administration is butorphanol, an agonist-antagonist drug that generally is not recommended. (See opioid agonist-antagonists in Table 5 for more information.) |
