European journal of anaesthesiology. Supplement
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Eur J Anaesthesiol Suppl · Jan 1987
Fixed-rate alfentanil infusions for surgery of variable duration.
The continuous infusion of alfentanil with a modified Fresenius-injectomat infusion pump was studied in 27 patients undergoing orthopaedic operations of variable length. Patients were premedicated with diazepam 10 mg orally. Anaesthesia was induced with thiopentone, vecuronium and an anfentanil loading dose delivered by the infusion pump at a rate of 10 micrograms kg-1 min-1 for 10 min. ⋯ Recovery was uneventful in all but one patient, who had ventilatory depression that responded to naloxone. All patients were satisfied with their anaesthesia and recovery. The use of a 10-min, 10 micrograms kg-1 min-1 loading infusion, then a maintenance infusion of 1 microgram kg-1 min-1 delivered by a modified Fresenius-injectomat infusion pump may be the first step in simplifying the continuous infusion of alfentanil.