Patient-Controlled Epidural Analgesia After Hysterectomy With Bupivacaine 0.125%: Comparison Of Different Concentrations Of Sufentanil And Fentanyl

Aims: The aim of the study was to compare the analgesic efficacy and the safety profile of different concentrations of sufentanil and fentanyl as an adjuvant to bupivacaine for postoperative lumbar epidural analgesia.Settings and Design: Prospective double blind, randomized controlled ,single centre study.Material and Methods: 80 patients of ASA-I-II aged 40-55 years who underwent vaginal hysterectomy were randomly allocated in four groups. The PCEA pump was programmed to deliver a 2 ml bolus with a lockout interval of 12 min and background infusion of 4 ml/h. 0.125% bupivacaine with sufentanil 0.5 μg/mL ,0.75 μg /mL and 1 μg /mL was administered and compared with fentanyl 4μg/ml. Patients were observed for analgesic profile and side effects. Statistical analysis : Statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS 14. p< 0.05 was considered significant.Results: The quality of postoperative analgesia of all combinations of bupivacaine-sufentanil were equivalent to bupivacaine-fentanyl . Pruritus was significantly less with bupivacaine – sufentanil 0.5μg/ml (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Sufentanil 0.5 μg/ml is the recommended dose for PCEA