Nalbuphine combined with midazolam for outpatient sedation. An assessment of safety in volunteers.

Eighteen healthy volunteers were studied in a double-blind trial to determine which dose of nalbuphine (0.05, 0.1 or 0.2 mg/kg) may be combined with midazolam 0.05 mg/kg to provide a safe outpatient intravenous sedative technique. The ventilatory response to carbon dioxide and end tidal PCO2 were measured before and after the drugs were administered. A mild degree of respiratory depression occurred, which was maximal at 3-30 minutes after injection. This was not related to dose except that nalbuphine 0.05 mg/kg resulted in the slowest respiratory rates. The implications of these findings for clinical practice are discussed.