A comparative study of patient-controlled epidural analgesia with sufentanil and fentanyl after thoracotomy

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of sufentanil and fentanyl at equivalent dose for patient-controlled epidural analgesia(PCEA)after thoracotomy.Methods Sixty Cases undergoing radical operation were randomly divided into sufentanil intravenous analgesia group(Group SF,n=30)and fentanyl intravenous analgesia group(Group F,n=30).At 24 h and 48 h after operation,NE concentration in plasma was detected.The pain intensity,sedative scores and nausea scores were evaluated and the saturation of oxygen(SaO2),respiratory rate(RR),mean artery blood pressure(MAP)were recorded.Results Compared with Group F,the plasma NE concentration and the pain intensity were lower(P0.05)and the sedative efficacy was better in group SF(P0.05),while the incidence of nausea and vomiting in group SF was lower than that in group F(P0.05).No significant differences were observed in SaO2,RR,heart rate and mean arterial pressure between the two groups.Conclusion PCEA with sufentanil provides a better efficacy of analgesia and sedation but a lower incidence of nausea and vomiting than fentanyl for postoperative patients.