• Ali Reza Bameshki, Mohammad-Reza Zanjankhah, Mehryar Taghavi Gilani, and Patricia Khashayar.
• Surgery Department, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
• South. Med. J. 2010 Mar 1; 103 (3): 197-201.

ObjectivesThe present study compares the analgesic properties of intrathecal (IT group) and intravenous (IV group) sufentanil in postoperative pain relief.MethodsThis randomized, single blinded study was performed on patients awaiting transhiatal esophagectomy. The patients were randomly allocated to receive sufentanil intrathecally or intravenously. Sufentanil consumption during the operation, pain score following the operation based on visual analog scale (VAS) and the morphine requirement for postoperative analgesia were assessed during the first 24 hours.ResultsFifty patients were divided in two groups. During the operation, the opioid requirement was higher in the IV group, whereas the morphine requirement during the first 24 hours after the operation was the same in both groups. The duration of effective postoperative analgesia was longer in patients in the IT group. VAS pain scores were significantly lower during the first 2 hours postoperatively in the IT group. The incidence of side effects such as nausea, vomiting, headache and respiratory depression was infrequent in both groups.ConclusionsPreoperative IT sufentanil can be used as a booster to achieve rapid and effective analgesia not only during the operation but also during the immediate postoperative period.

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