N albuphine is an opioid against -antagonist of the phenanthrene
series .related to naloxone and oxymorphone. It is claimed to produce
good analgesia with fewer side effects than morphine (Wandless,
1987). The analgesic potency of nalbuphine is equal to that of morphine
on a milligram basis (Fragen and Caldwell, 1977).
The respiratory depressant capacity of intravenous nalbuphine a
potent analgesic of the narcotic antagonist type and morphine were
compared by Romagnoli and Keats, (1980) and they concluded that
nalbuphine in increments to a total of 60mg/kg, doses in excess of 30
mg/kg failed to increase respiratory depression beyond that induced by
morphine 20 mg/kg. A ceiling effect for respiratory depression
previously known to exist only for nalorphine was thereby
demonstrated to apply to nalbuphine.