The purpose of this study was to compare the analgesic effect of epidural vs intravenous of alfentanil for treatment of postoperative pain.
Forty ASA 1 or 2 patients were randomized to two groups receiving either an intravenous (Group I) or an epidur...
The purpose of this study was to compare the analgesic effect of epidural vs intravenous of alfentanil for treatment of postoperative pain.
Forty ASA 1 or 2 patients were randomized to two groups receiving either an intravenous (Group I) or an epidural (Group E) infusion of alfentanil for post- operative pain relief. In both groups, loading dose of alfentanil 750?g was administered, following by a continuous infusion of alfentanil 10mg for 20hr. All patients used the same infusion rate (3ml/hr), bolus dose (1.5ml) and lockout time (15min). The analgesic effect was evaluated by using a visual analog scale (VAS) at 5min, 10min, 30min, 1hr, 2hr, 12hr and 20hr postoperatively. In addition, sedation score, complication, satisfaction degree was checked up to 20 hr after surgery.
No significant difference was evident between the two groups in term of pain score and satisfaction degree. The onset of analgesia was significantly quicker in the intravenous group versus the epidural group. Side effect such as nausea, vomiting, pruritus and respiratory depression appeared with same incidence in both groups.
We conclude that the intravenous and the epidural routes were equally effective for providing postoperative pain control. In view of the observation we were not able to demonstrate a spinal action of alfentanil.