NALBUPHINE HCL (nalbuphine hcl)


Drug overview for NALBUPHINE HCL (nalbuphine hcl):

Generic name: NALBUPHINE HCL
Drug class: Opioid Analgesics- IR (with all antitussive opiates)
Therapeutic class: Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory or Antipyretic

Nalbuphine hydrochloride is a synthetic opiate partial agonist analgesic.

Nalbuphine hydrochloride is used for the relief of pain that is severe enough to require an opiate analgesic; because of the risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse associated with opiates even at recommended dosages, nalbuphine should be reserved for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options (e.g., nonopiate analgesics) have not been, or are not expected to be, adequate or tolerated. The drug also is used to provide preoperative and postoperative sedation and analgesia and as a supplement to balanced surgical anesthesia. However, nalbuphine should be used with caution in patients undergoing surgery of the biliary tract.

The drug also is used for obstetrical analgesia during labor and delivery; however, nalbuphine should be used with caution in women during labor and delivery, since adverse effects associated with nalbuphine may occur in the neonate. (See Cautions: Pregnancy.) There are few published studies comparing the effectiveness of nalbuphine with other analgesics; determination of the relative value and potential for abuse of nalbuphine must await further studies and more extensive use of the drug. Because it does not suppress the abstinence syndrome and may induce withdrawal in opiate-dependent patients, nalbuphine cannot be substituted for opiate agonists after physical dependence has been established without prior detoxification.

Because the drug's antagonist activity appears to be selective for the micro opiate receptor and relatively weak compared with nalorphine, nalbuphine is probably not an effective antidote in the treatment of many effects induced by opiate agonists. However, nalbuphine has effectively reversed or prevented postoperative respiratory depression induced by opiate agonists+ (without reversing analgesia) in many but not all patients. For further information on the role of opiate analgesics in pain management, see Uses: Pain, in the Opiate Agonists General Statement 28:08.08.
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The following indications for NALBUPHINE HCL (nalbuphine hcl) have been approved by the FDA:

Indications:
General anesthesia adjunct
Labor pain
Local anesthesia adjunct
Pain


Professional Synonyms:
Adjunct general anesthesia
Adjunct local anesthesia