nalbuphine and Coronary-Disease

Patients who undergo percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) by the femoral approach are usually required to lie flat in bed for 6 to 24 hours, which may result in significant discomfort. This study was performed to evaluate the safety and benefit of a flexible sheath that enables patients to sit at a 60-degree angle while the sheath is in place in the femoral artery. Sixty patients were randomly assigned to receive either flexible or nonflexible sheaths before PTCA. Patients with flexible sheaths were allowed to sit at an angle of 60 degrees after the procedure. Heparin management was the same in both groups. Frequency of calls to nurses for back pain was recorded for both groups. For analgesia, nalbuphine was administered in 2-mg increments. All sheaths were removed the day after the procedure. Femoral ultrasound was used to detect groin complications (hematoma, pseudoaneurysm, or arteriovenous fistula) and was performed in all patients. Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. There were no differences in ease of sheath insertion or guide catheter movement through the sheaths. The arterial pressure waveform was not dampened in any of the flexible sheath patients while in the sitting position. Patients with flexible sheaths had fewer calls for back pain and required less nalbuphine than patients with nonflexible sheaths. Groin complications were similar in both groups. In conclusion, by allowing patients to sit up to an angle of 60 degrees, flexible sheaths have a beneficial effect in reducing back pain and the need for analgesics after PTCA.

Topics: Aged; Analgesics, Opioid; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; Back Pain; Coronary Disease; Female; Femoral Artery; Humans; Immobilization; Male; Middle Aged; Nalbuphine; Patient Satisfaction; Pliability

Although the hemodynamic changes produced by small doses of nalbuphine given to patients with cardiac disease are minimal, the cardiovascular effects of large doses which have been used as supplements for general anesthesia have not been investigated. Cardiovascular variables were measured after incremental doses of nalbuphine, up to 2 or 3 mg/kg in fourteen patients with coronary artery disease with normal left ventricular function and in seven patients with mitral valve disease. No significant changes in cardiac index, stroke work index, mean arterial pressure, pulmonary diastolic or wedge pressure, heart rate, or central venous pressure occurred in the preoperative period. However, nalbuphine alone did not produce surgical anesthesia and the addition of diazepam, nitrous oxide, or halothane was required in all patients. The addition of halothane coupled with surgical stimulation significantly decreased cardiac and stroke indices, increased mean arterial and pulmonary wedge pressures, and increased systemic vascular resistance in patients with coronary artery disease. In patients with mitral valve disease, following surgical incision, there were small but significant decreases in cardiac index and left ventricular stoke work index, and increases in systemic vascular resistance. Despite its lack of deleterious hemodynamic effects, the place of nalbuphine in the armamentarium of the anesthesiologist must be limited to use as a premedicant, as an adjunct to balanced anesthesia, or for postoperative pain relief.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Anesthesia, General; Coronary Artery Bypass; Coronary Disease; Female; Heart Valve Diseases; Hemodynamics; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mitral Valve; Morphinans; Nalbuphine