Effect of preoperative intravenous oxycodone administration on sufentanil consumption after retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative intravenous oxycodone administration on postoperative sufentanil consumption in patients undergoing retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy. Methods: Fifty patients scheduled for retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy were enrolled and randomly assigned to two groups-patients in Group O (n = 25) received intravenously 0.1 mg kg(-1) oxycodone; while the patients in Group C (n = 25) received 0.1 mL kg(-1) normal saline for 2 min, 10 min before the operation. All of the participants received intravenous sufentanil patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) after extubation, using a PCA device. The sufentanil consumption, rescue analgesia, Ramsay sedation scale (RSS) and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at rest and during cough, the overall satisfaction and undesired events were all assessed. Results: Cumulative sufentanil consumption delivered by PCA was significantly lower in Group O at all time points. VAS scores at rest and during coughing at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 hours after extubation of the patient were significantly lower in Group O than in Group C. There were no significant differences between the two groups according to the number of patients administered tramadol, RSS and the incidence of side effects. The degree of patients' satisfaction was higher in Group O. Conclusion: Preoperative intravenous oxycodone can reduce postoperative cumulative sufentanil consumption and postoperative pain intensity without an increase in side effects.