Anesthesiology
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Although respiratory depression is the most well-known and dangerous side effect of opioids, no pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model exists for its quantitative analysis. The development of such a model was the aim of this study. ⋯ The model described the data for the entire opioid-PaCo2 response surface examined. Indirect response models appear to be a promising tool for the quantitative evaluation of drug-induced respiratory depression.