Effective Target Concentration of Sufentanil Combined With Sevoflurane Anesthesia for Abdominal Surgery: A Dose-Response Study

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effects of target-controlled infusion (TCI) of sufentanil with sevoflurane anesthesia on hemodynamics and postoperative recovery of abdominal surgery. Target-controlled infusion of opioid analgesics provides efficient drug use, allowing an accurate achievement of the desired analgesia level and fewer overdose-induced adverse effects. A total of 80 patients receiving abdominal surgery (surgery for gastric cancer or colorectal cancer) were divided into 4 groups to receive anesthesia with sevoflurane accompanied with different doses of sufentanil (0.4, 0.6, 0.8, or 1.0 ng/mL). Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, times to recovery of spontaneous respiration, eye opening, extubation, and orientation were recorded. Hemodynamic measurements were compared among groups. Comparison between the 2 groups of subjects was made with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), LSD-t test, or χ2 test. Although sufentanil at 0.8 and 1.0 ng/mL maintained stable perioperative hemodynamics, the higher dose was associated with increased incidence of bradycardia following intubation (10/19 cases, 52.6%; P < 0.05). Additionally, no differences were observed in the incidence of hypotension, hypertension, or tachycardia between groups (P > 0.05). Increased dose of sufentanil was associated with delayed postoperative recovery. These results demonstrate that TCI at 0.8 ng/mL sufentanil accompanied with sevoflurane anesthesia is a suitable anesthetic regimen for abdominal surgery.