[Nalbuphine. Comparison of 2 therapeutic regimens for the control of postoperative pain]

The therapeutical efficiency and the undesirable effects of Nalbuphine administered to control postoperative pain were compared. Two groups of patients were studied: one group received 10 mg endovenously every 4 h during the first 12 h of the postoperative phase and every 6 h during the following 12 h while the other group received 20 mg with the same intervals. The following variants were evaluated: pain, systolic arterial tension, cardiac frequency, respiratory frequency and undesirable effects. After statistical analysis, a similarity in both groups was confirmed for pain, systolic arterial tension, cardiac frequency, while a significant difference was found in two of the undesirable effects: sedation and sweating. In conclusion, the 10 mg dose is as effective as that of 20 mg to control pain and has less unwanted effects.