Landiolol, a new ultra-short-acting β1-blocker, reduces anaesthetic requirement during sevoflurane/N2O/fentanyl anaesthesia in surgical patients

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVEIt is known that esmolol, a short-acting β1-blocker, reduces anaesthetic requirement. In this study, we evaluated whether a low dose of landiolol, a new ultra-short-acting β1-blocker, can reduce the sevoflurane requirement. METHODSTwenty-five patients undergoing hip surgery were randomly divided into two groups. Group A (n = 13) received landiolol (bolus injection of 0.031 mg· kg and continuous infusion at a rate of 0.01 mg·kg·min). Group B (n = 12) received physiological saline. Landiolol and physiological saline were started before the induction of anaesthesia and continued until the end of anaesthesia. Anaesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane, 60% N2O and fentanyl. Sevoflurane concentration was controlled to keep the bispectral index at approximately 50. The end-tidal sevoflurane concentration and haemodynamics were measured during anaesthesia. RESULTSThe average end-tidal sevoflurane concentration in group A was significantly lower than that in group B (1.2 ± 0.30 vs. 1.8 ± 0.3%, P < 0.01). Maximum values of systolic arterial pressure showed no difference between the groups, whereas the maximum value of heart rate in group A was significantly less than that in group B (61 ± 10 vs. 76 ± 14 beats min, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONThe results suggest that a low dose of landiolol significantly reduces the intraoperative sevoflurane requirement during sevoflurane/N2O/fentanyl anaesthesia in patients undergoing hip surgery.