Remifentanil on T lymphocytes, cognitive function and inflammatory cytokines of patients undergoing radical surgery for cervical cancer

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of remifentanil on cognitive function, T lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory cytokines of patients undergoing radical surgery for cervical cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 70 patients undergoing radical surgery for cervical cancer in our hospital from August 2014 to January 2017 were selected. They were divided into control group (n=35) and experimental group (n=35). The patients in the control group received intravenous drip of fentanyl, while those in the experimental group received intravenous drip of remifentanil in the surgery. All the patients returned to the wards after surgery. The eye-opening time, extubation time and awaking time of the patients were collected and recorded by specialized surgical nurses. Moreover, the cognitive function of the patients was assessed at the beginning of the surgery and 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h after surgery. Blood was drawn at 24 h after surgery, and quantitative analysis of T lymphocyte subsets and Inflammatory cytokines of the patients was conducted. RESULTS: The eye-opening time, extubation time, and awaking time in the remifentanil group were significantly earlier than those in the fentanyl group after surgery (p<0.05). At the same time after surgery, the score of mini-mental state examination (MMSE) in the remifentanil group was higher than that in the fentanyl group. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The patients in the experimental group had a relatively low occurrence of cognitive disorder after surgery (p<0.05). The impacts of remifentanil on each type of T lymphocytes and inflammatory cytokines of the patients after surgery were smaller than those of fentanyl. The differences were statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Remifentanil can wake patients up early after surgery. Meanwhile, it results in small inflammatory response and stress response, and low occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction in patients. Therefore, it is worthy of being vigorously promoted for clinical application.