Premium
Pre‐medication with intravenous clonidine suppresses fentanyl‐induced cough
Author(s) -
Horng H.C.,
Wong C.S.,
Hsiao K.N.,
Huh B. K.,
Kuo C.P.,
Cherng C.H.,
Wu C.T.
Publication year - 2007
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.1399-6576.2007.01335.x
Subject(s) - clonidine , medicine , fentanyl , anesthesia , saline , sedation , cough reflex , bolus (digestion) , hemodynamics , reflex , surgery
Background: A reflex cough is often observed after an intravenous bolus of fentanyl. This study was conducted to determine whether pre‐treatment with intravenous clonidine could effectively attenuate fentanyl‐induced cough. Methods: Three hundred ASA I–II patients, aged between 18 and 80 years, undergoing various elective surgeries, were enrolled in this study. All patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups treated with intravenous clonidine 2 μg/kg (clonidine group) or the same volume of normal saline (control group). Intravenous fentanyl (2 μg/kg in 2 s) was injected 2 min after the clonidine or normal saline injection. Changes in the hemodynamics, auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) and Observer Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (OAA/S) rating scale were recorded before and 2 min after the clonidine or normal saline injection and 1 min after the fentanyl injection. The number of coughs 1 min after the fentanyl injection was also recorded. Results: Patients in the clonidine group showed a significantly lower incidence of cough than those in the control group (17.3% vs. 38.7%, respectively; P < 0.01). The blood pressure was lower in the clonidine group than in the control group. There were no significant differences in AEP or OAA/S rating scale. Conclusions: Pre‐treatment with intravenous clonidine (2 μg/kg) suppressed the reflex cough induced by fentanyl, with mild hemodynamic changes. Therefore, intravenous clonidine may be a clinically useful method of suppressing fentanyl‐induced cough.