BackgroundInduction of anesthesia and endotracheal intubation often creates a period of hemodynamic instability in hypertensive patients. Endotracheal intubation of the trachea stimulates laryngeal and tracheal sensory receptors, resulting in a marked increase in the elaboration of sympathetic amines.ObjectivesThis trial aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacy of fentanyl and fentanyl plus lidocaine in attenuating the hemodynamic responses to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation in hypertensive patients.Patients and MethodsWe conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind trial in 37 patients with hypertension in the Rasoul-Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from March to December 2011. The patients were randomly divided into two groups (fentanyl group and fentanyl plus lidocaine group). The fentanyl group received 2 mcg/kg and the fentanyl plus lidocaine group received 1.5mg lidocaine and 2mcg/kg fentanyl. Hemodynamic variables were recorded at baseline, after giving inductive anesthetic agents, and 1, 3 and 5 minutes after performing endotracheal intubation.ResultsWe evaluated 37 patients including 15 males (40.54%) and 22 females (59.46%), with a mean age of 56.08 ± 10.85 years. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding; heart rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure before induction, 3 minutes before intubation and 1, 3 and 5 minutes after intubation.ConclusionsFentanyl and fentanyl plus lidocaine effectively decreased the hemodynamic response to tracheal intubation, however, neither fentanyl nor fentanyl plus lidocaine, could inhibit all hemodynamic responses, moreover fentanyl plus lidocaine was not more effective than fentanyl alone.

Background:The addition of intrathecal opioids to local anesthetics seems to improve the quality of analgesia and prolong the duration of analgesia, when using a subarachnoid block in Iranian patients with their specific pain tolerance.Objectives:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding fentanyl or sufentanil, to intrathecal bupivacaine, in terms of the onset and duration of; sensory block, motor block, hemodynamic effects and postoperative pain relief.Patients and Methods:This randomized clinical trial included 90 patients who underwent orthopedic lower limb surgeries. Subjects were divided into experimental groups; intrathecal fentanyl 25 µg (F), and sufentanil 2.5 µg (S), along with a placebo 0.5 mL normal saline (C) group, which were added to bupivacaine 0.5%, 15 mg. Duration of complete and effective analgesia was recorded (by a visual analogue scale-VAS). The pain scores were assessed postoperatively. Intraoperative mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate and oxygen saturation (SPO2) were recorded. The incidence of side effects such as; nausea, vomiting, pruritus, shivering, bradycardia and hypotension were also recorded.Results:MAP and heart rate results showed no significant changes at the designated time points among the three groups (P > 0.05). However, SPO2 and VAS showed significant changes at the designated time points among the three groups (P < 0.05). The duration of complete and effective analgesia was also significantly longer in the sufentanil group (P < 0.05). Motor block did not exhibit any significant difference (P = 0.67). Only pruritus as a side effect was significantly higher in the sufentanil group (P < 0.05), while all other evaluated side effects were significantly lower in the sufentanil group (P < 0.05).Conclusions:The addition of 2.5-3 mcg sufentanil to 15 mg 0.05% bupivacaine maintained the patient’s hemodynamic stability similar to fentanyl. Intrathecal sufentanil added to bupivacaine,when compared with fentanyl, may lead to prolonged duration of analgesia, facilitate the spread of the sensory block, increase mean SPO2 levels, and reduce overall side effects.

Background: Despite the high acceptability of the extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) procedure in the treatment of urinary stones at all ages, it is necessary to use a variety of analgesic drugs during the procedure, especially among children. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine-ketamine (DK) and midazolam-ketamine (MK) compounds in the sedation of children (2-6 years old) undergoing ESWL. Methods: This randomized, double-blind clinical trial was performed on children aged 2 to 6 years with renal stones undergoing ESWL. The participants were randomly assigned to the DK and MK regimen groups (dexmedetomidine, 0.05 mcg/kg within 10 minutes infusion; midazolam, 0.05 mg/kg within 3 minutes infusion; ketamine, 0.5 mg/kg bolus injection). The patients were assessed with respect to sedation degree, post-procedure hemodynamic status, recovery time and awakening, and operator satisfaction. Results: Recovery time was significantly shorter in the DK group than in the MK group. Also, the DK regimen was more analgesic than the MK regimen; therefore, the need to repeat ketamine administration was less. There was no difference between the 2 methods in terms of cooperation at the time of separation of children from their parents, patient cooperation during the procedure, average verbal response time and average cooperation time after entering recovery, and operator satisfaction with the operation. No side effects were observed in the 2 groups. Conclusions: Ketamine with dexmedetomidine is associated with greater analgesia and shorter recovery time; however, sedation time was longer (insignificant) in ketamine with midazolam than in ketamine with dexmedetomidine. Thus, ketamine with dexmedetomidine is more preferred.