Alfentanil combined with vecuronium or pancuronium: haemodynamic implications

Forty-two fit, anticholinergized patients, induced with thiopentone, received either vecuronium (V) or pancuronium (P) 0.1 mg/kg, followed by alfentanil 15 micrograms/kg. The mean heart rate in the Group V was significantly lower than that in the Group P. The difference, 10-15 bpm, appeared after alfentanil administration, and lasted for 5 min postintubation, when under N2O anaesthesia. The Group P patients maintained their arterial pressure closer to the preinduction level than did the Group V patients, but a statistically significant inter-group difference appeared only at two recording stages. Four Group V patients, contrasted to none of the Group P patients (P less than 0.05), were put in head-down tilt, or were given atropine, and/or etilephrine for an undue decrease in arterial pressure. Compared to vecuronium, pancuronium increased heart rate, and protected from arterial hypotension, when combined with low-dose alfentanil.