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Does epidural sufentanil provide effective analgesia per‐and postoperatively for abdominal aortic surgery?
Author(s) -
Broekema A. A.,
Kuizenga K.,
Hennis P. J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-6576.1996.tb04383.x
Subject(s) - sufentanil , medicine , anesthesia , bolus (digestion) , saline , abdominal surgery , midazolam , bupivacaine , catheter , surgery , sedation
To assess the efficacy of epidural sufentanil in providing per‐and postoperative analgesia, 40 patients undergoing elective abdominal aortic surgery received either 50 μg sufentanil in 10 ml normal saline solution (n=20, ES group) or 10 ml normal saline (n=20, control group) via a thoracic epidural catheter. The study solution was given (double‐blind and at random) after the patients had been anaesthetized with i.v. midazolam, sufentanil and vecuronium. Anaesthesia was maintained with 60% nitrous oxide in oxygen and halothane at a 1% inspiratory concentration. When patients showed signs of inadequate analgesia, supplementary doses of 25 μg sufentanil were given i.v. The number of patients requiring additional i.v. sufentanil differed significantly between the two groups: 5 out of 20 patients in the ES group vs 13 out of 20 patients in the control group required additional sufentanil (P<0.05). The mean dose administered i.v. did not differ significantly between the two groups: 105±109.5 μg vs 138.5±126.9 μg (mean±SD) in 5 and 13 patients, respectively. No cardiovascular changes were observed after the epidural bolus dose. Postoperative analgesia, consisting of a continuous epidural infusion of 50 μg sufentanil in 50 ml bupivacaine 0.125% at a rate of 6–10 ml/h after a bolus dose of 10 ml of this solution, was adequate in the majority of patients, as determined by VAS‐scores assessed during the epidural treatment (4.3±1.5 days).