Credit: Chris Schrier

A German study has shown the analgesic nalbuphine (Nubain) reduces the incidence of emergence delirium/agitation (EDA) in preschool children undergoing ophthalmic surgery.

EDA is defined by Vlajkovic and Sindjelic as a transient post-anaesthesia state where a child is irritable, uncompromising, uncooperative, incoherent and inconsolably crying, moaning, kicking or thrashing. Researchers in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Cologne gave 0.1 mg/kg nalbuphine to 50 children (median age, 20.5 months) at the end of ophthalmic surgery. All patients had a Paediatric-Anaesthesia-Emergence-Delirium-I score (PAED-ED-I Score) of less than 6/20 and Face-Legs-Activity-Cry-Consolability scores (FLACC) of less than 3/10 on waking and on leaving the recovery room.