nalbuphine and Acute-Pain

Opioid-induced pruritus is a common side effect of opioid treatment in patients with acute pain associated with surgery or childbirth. There are several options available to treat opioid-induced pruritus, including nalbuphine. However, it is not known whether nalbuphine offers greater efficacy in treating pruritus without attenuation of analgesia and an increase in the incidence of adverse outcomes.. A systematic search of studies assessing treatment efficacy of nalbuphine was conducted through Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and ProQuest databases. The primary outcome was reduction of pruritus, whereas the secondary outcomes included analgesia and adverse outcomes.. Ten studies that met all inclusion criteria were identified, 9 of which were randomized controlled trials and 1 case report. The incidence of pruritus was higher among patients receiving neuraxial opioids than those with the intravenous route. Nalbuphine provided greater efficacy in treating opioid-induced pruritus when compared with placebo, control, or other pharmacologic agents such as diphenhydramine, naloxone, and propofol. There was no attenuation of analgesia or increase in sedation with low-dose nalbuphine treatment—25% to 50% of the dose to treat pain, that is, 2.5 to 5 mg versus 10 mg intravenously. Further, nalbuphine was associated with reduction of nausea or vomiting, and reversal of respiratory depression.. Nalbuphine is superior in treating opioid-induced pruritus when compared with placebo, control, diphenhydramine, naloxone, or propofol in patients receiving neuraxial opioids for acute pain related to surgery or childbirth. Therefore, it is recommended that nalbuphine should be used as a first-line treatment of opioid-induced pruritus.

Topics: Acute Pain; Analgesics, Opioid; Humans; Nalbuphine; Pruritus; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

BACKGROUND: Treatment of acute pain is an essential element of pre-hospital care for injured and critically ill patients. Clinical studies indicate the need for improvement in the prehospital analgesia.. The aim of this study is to assess the current situation in out of hospital pain management in Germany regarding the substances, indications, dosage and the delegation of the use of analgesics to emergency medical service (EMS) staff.. A standardized survey of the medical directors of the emergency services (MDES) in Germany was carried out using an online questionnaire. The anonymous results were evaluated using the statistical software SPSS (Chi-squared test, Mann-Whitney-U test).. Seventy-seven MDES responsible for 989 rescue stations and 397 EMS- physician bases in 15 federal states took part in this survey. Morphine (98.7%), Fentanyl (85.7%), Piritramide (61%), Sufentanil (18.2%) and Nalbuphine (14,3%) are provided as opioid analgesics. The non-opioid analgesics (NOA) including Ketamine/Esketamine (98,7%), Metamizole (88.3%), Paracetamol (66,2%), Ibuprofen (24,7%) and COX-2-inhibitors (7,8%) are most commonly available. The antispasmodic Butylscopolamine is available (81,8%) to most rescue stations. Fentanyl is the most commonly provided opioid analgesic for treatment of a traumatic pain (70.1%) and back pain (46.8%), Morphine for visceral colic-like (33.8%) and non-colic pain (53.2%). In cases of acute coronary syndrome is Morphine (85.7%) the leading analgesic substance. Among the non-opioid analgesics is Ketamine/Esketamine (90.9%) most frequently provided to treat traumatic pain, Metamizole for visceral colic-like (70.1%) and non-colic (68.6%) as well as back pain (41.6%). Butylscopolamine is the second most frequently provided medication after Metamizole for "visceral colic-like pain" (55.8%). EMS staff (with or without a request for presence of the EMS physician on site) are permitted to use the following: Morphine (16.9%), Piritramide (13.0%) and Nalbuphine (10.4%), and of NOAs for (Es)Ketamine (74.1%), Paracetamol (53.3%) and Metamizole (35.1%). The dosages of the most important and commonly provided analgesic substances permitted to independent treatment by the paramedics are often below the recommended range for adults (RDE). The majority of medical directors (78.4%) of the emergency services consider the independent application of analgesics by paramedics sensible. The reason for the relatively rare authorization of opioids for use by paramedics is mainly due to legal (in)certainty (53.2%).. Effective analgesics are available for EMS staff in Germany, the approach to improvement lies in the area of application. For this purpose, the adaptations of the legal framework as well as the creation of a guideline for prehospital analgesia are useful.

Topics: Acetaminophen; Acute Pain; Adult; Analgesics; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; Analgesics, Opioid; Butylscopolammonium Bromide; Dipyrone; Fentanyl; Germany; Humans; Ketamine; Morphine Derivatives; Nalbuphine; Physician Executives; Pirinitramide

Nalbuphine (NLB) is a kappa-agonist and mu-partial antagonist, widely used for opioid withdrawal de-addiction, opioid-induced pruritis and as emergent analgesia.. The present study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of NLB in pain sensitization, through a submental route so as to provide faster management in emergent situations.. In-vivo efficacy and safety studies of NLB-submental injection were assessed in Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats. For eddy's hot plate study, animals were allocated into three groups, the first group served as normal control; group II received NLB (through submental route at 1.2 mg/kg); group III received NLB (through intramuscular route at 1.2 mg/kg). Response latency (in terms of response latency) was measured at 10, 30 & 60 min in all the experimental groups. Safety studies were carried out according to OECD 423. In-vitro release study was conducted using a cellulose dialysis membrane (12,000 KDa). The biodistribution and release kinetics studies were carried out using gamma scintigraphy studies in New Zealand rabbits and humans respectively.. The response latency of NLB from the submental route was found to be 7.17 (SD 1.47) seconds and in the case of the intramuscular route it was calculated as 4.00 (SD 1.26) seconds at 10 min. The data depicts the better efficacy of submental injection in ameliorating pain than the intramuscular injection. Toxicity studies predict the safe profile through a submental route. The release kinetics in humans of submental NLB was 46% faster as compared to the intramuscular site of injection. The NLB injection through both routes was compared by non-invasive gamma scintigraphy technique and we found that submental injection has faster (within 10 min) onset of action & distributes rapidly.. The submental route of NLB is faster, more efficacious than the intramuscular route. Thus, we conclude that in the case of emergent scenarios (i.v or i.m. route is compromised), where immediate relief is necessary, the submental route is a preferred choice.

Topics: Acute Pain; Analgesics, Opioid; Animals; Emergency Medical Services; Nalbuphine; Rabbits; Radionuclide Imaging; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tissue Distribution