Effect of anesthesia induction with butorphanol on postoperative nausea and vomiting: A randomized controlled trial

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are common complications that affect the recovery and well-being of elderly patients undergoing gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgery.

To investigate the effect of butorphanol on PONV in this patient population.

A total of 110 elderly patients (≥ 65 years old) who underwent gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgery were randomly assigned to receive butorphanol (40 μg/kg) or sufentanil (0.3 μg/kg) during anesthesia induction in a 1:1 ratio. The measured outcomes included the incidence of PONV at 48 h after surgery, intraoperative dose of propofol and remifentanil, Bruggrmann Comfort Scale score in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), number of compressions for postoperative patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA), and time to first flatulence after surgery.

The results revealed a noteworthy reduction in the occurrence of PONV at 24 h after surgery in the butorphanol group, when compared to the sufentanil group (T1: 23.64% vs 5.45%, T2: 43.64% vs 20.00%, P < 0.05). However, no significant variations were observed between the two groups, in terms of the clinical characteristics, such as the PONV or motion sickness history, intraoperative and postoperative 48-h total infusion volume and hemodynamic parameters, intraoperative dose of propofol and remifentanil, number of postoperative PCIA compressions, time until the first occurrence of postoperative flatulence, and incidence of PONV at 48 h post-surgery (all, P > 0.05). Furthermore, patients in the butorphanol group were more comfortable, when compared to patients in the sufentanil group in the PACU.

The present study revealed that butorphanol can be an efficacious substitute for sufentanil during anesthesia induction to diminish PONV within 24 h following gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgery in the elderly, simultaneously improving patient comfort in the PACU.