Effect of sedation with propofol and fentanyl on children undergoing mechanical ventilation

Objective To investigate the effect of sedation with propofol combined with fentanyl on children undergoing mechanical ventilation in pediatric intensive care unit(PICU).Methods 56 children undergoing me-chanical ventilation admitted to the PICU of our hospital were assigned randomly into group P(treated by propofol) and group P/F(treated by propofol combined with fentanyl).The two groups received a bolus of intravenous(i.v.) loading dose along with infusion maintenance dose.The respiratory and circulatory parameters were recorded at 0 min and 60 min after the treatment,followed respectively by assessment of sedative degree every two hours.The sedatives were infused continuously to achieve a target Ramsay scale of 3 to 4 and ventilator synchronal score of adaptation to the intensive care environment more than 3.The recovery time,complications,dosage,satisfactory degree on sedation and ventilator synchronal score were recorded.Results There were no significant difference between the two groups in baseline parameters(P0.05).The heart rate,respiratory rate and airway peak pressure 60 min after the treatment in the two groups decreased significantly(P0.05) compared with that before the treatment,and the mean blood pressure in group P decreased(P0.05).In group P/F,the satisfactory degree on sedation and ventilator synchronal score of ad-aptation to the intensive care environment were significantly higher than those in group P(P0.05),the recovery time was shorter(P0.05),and the complications were less.Conclusion Combination of propofol and fentanyl showed satisfactory sedative efficacy and safety in children undergoing mechanical ventilation,which could enhance the com-pliance of ventilated children to ventilator and improve the ventilation effect.