Sedation analgesia during office-based plastic surgery procedures: Comparison of two opioid regimens

Background: The combination of sedative and analgesic drugs is increasingly being used during minimally invasive surgery. The authors compared the clinical efficacy of two different fentanyl regimens, in combination with midazolam, for sedation analgesia in patients undergoing office-based plastic surgery procedures under local anesthesia. Methods: One-hundred patients were randomized into two groups of 50 subjects each. Group F-1 received a fentanyl bolus of 0.7 mu g/kg before infiltration with local anaesthetics; group F-2 received the same bolus plus 0.6 gg/kg fentanyl every 45 minutes. All patients received a midazolam bolus of 0.05 mu g/kg plus continuous infusion 0.08 mu g/kg per hour. Results: High-quality analgesia was obtained in every group, without significant differences between the two fentanyl regimens. Group F-1 was associated with lower intraoperative mean blood pressure and SpO(2) values compared with group F-1. No differences were detected between the two groups in perioperative side effects or postoperative pain. Conclusion: Higher doses of opioid did not improve the quality of perioperative patient comfort but acted synergistically with the sedative drugs, amplifying the hemodynamic and respiratory side effects.