Comparison of nalbuphine and pethidine for the relief of pain after caesarean section.

Nalbuphine (Nubain; Du Pont) 0.2 mg/kg (a new semisynthetic agonist-antagonist opioid) was compared with pethidine 0.75 mg/kg intravenously for analgesia after caesarean section in 70 patients. Statistical analysis of data showed that there was equivalence for analgesia, respiratory rate, cardiovascular parameters, side-effects and patient acceptance between the two drugs.