Der Anaesthesist
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Review Comparative Study
[Sufentanil. An alternative to fentanyl/alfentanil?].
The introduction of the new opioid, sufentanil, into clinical practice should focus on the following questions: (1) What are the pharmacokinetic features of sufentanil that make it different from the well-established congeners alfentanil and fentanyl and open the way to new perspectives? and (2) Does sufentanil offer any particular advantages for specialised surgical procedures that make it the drug of first choice? Pharmacokinetics. Sufentanil is a potent analgesic with a very high receptor affinity and specificity, high lipid solubility, marked protein binding, and a shorter elimination half-life than fentanyl. Due to the high hepatic extraction ratio, metabolic degradation and elimination depend more on hepatic perfusion than on enzyme activity or renal clearance. ⋯ Epidural application of 10-50 micrograms sufentanil provides rapid and effective pain relief within 5-7 min for a period of 3-7 h. Doses of more than 50 micrograms seem to increase the risk of respiratory depression without further improvement of analgesia. Analgesia may be enhanced by combination with local anaesthetics or clonidine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
[No better vigilance after general anesthesia with propofol in colonic surgery. A comparison of three procedures for general anesthesia (propofol, halothane and midazolam/fentanyl) in combination with catheter epidural anesthesia].
Early mental and psychomotor recovery was studied in 67 patients undergoing colorectal surgery under continuous epidural anaesthesia and light general anaesthesia using propofol, halothane, and midazolam/fentanyl. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. All patients received epidural anaesthesia with 0.25% bupivacaine and were then randomly allocated to one of three groups. ⋯ It is concluded that propofol offers no advantage over halothane or midazolam/fentanyl where early postoperative recovery is concerned. Intraoperatively, all three techniques provided good anaesthesia. Propofol and midazolam/fentanyl caused less postoperative nausea and vomiting than halothane anaesthesia.