Comparison of sufentanil and fentanyl to supplement N2O-halothane anesthesia for total hip arthroplasty in elderly patients

Sufentanil was compared with fentanyl as a supplement to nitrous oxide-halothane anesthesia in a double-blind study of 30 elderly patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. Comparisons were made with respect to (a) hemodynamic (heart rate and blood pressure) and adrenergic (plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine levels) responses during surgery and recovery; (b) time to extubation after the end of surgery; and (c) postoperative analgesia. No difference was observed between the two groups with respect to demographic data, blood gas tensions, or hemodynamic and adrenergic responses to surgery and recovery. Total doses of opioids used were 0.7 +/- 0.3 micrograms/kg of sufentanil and 6 +/- 2.6 micrograms/kg of fentanyl. Times between end of surgery and extubation were not different (60 +/- 54 min in the fentanyl group and 58 +/- 52 min in the sufentanil group). The number of patients needing postoperative analgesia did not differ between the two groups, but use of analgesia was significantly delayed in the sufentanil group (168 +/- 25 vs 127 +/- 29, P less than 0.05). This study suggests that in elderly patients sufentanil confers a greater residual analgesia than fentanyl in the immediate postoperative period.