title: Respiratory effects of nalbuphine and butorphanol in anesthetized patients.
abstract: A double-blind, randomized study was conducted in 16 patients who were anesthetized with 50% nitrous oxide in oxygen and given either 0.17 mg/kg butorphanol or 0.86 mg/kg nalbuphine, and whose respiratory depression was assessed by the response of minute ventilation to increasing carbon dioxide concentrations. The slopes of the carbon dioxide ventilatory response curves [delta VE/delta PCO2(L.min-1 X %CO2(-1)] were 7.45 +/- 1.17 with nalbuphine and 2.42 +/- 0.56 with butorphanol. Butorphanol caused significantly (P less than 0.025) greater respiratory depression than nalbuphine. The results of this study caution against the indiscriminate use of butorphanol in the perianesthetic setting.
mesh_terms: D000768:Anesthesia, General; D002077:Butorphanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D008012:Lidocaine; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009019:Morphinans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009266:Nalbuphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009609:Nitrous Oxide; D011897:Random Allocation; D012119:Respiration / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D009019:Morphinans; D008012:Lidocaine; D009609:Nitrous Oxide; D009266:Nalbuphine; D002077:Butorphanol