The ED₉₀ of Oliceridine for Tracheal Intubation in Children: A Biased-Coin Up-and-Down Parallel Dose-Finding Study

Oliceridine as a novel biased μ-opioid receptors agonist that selectively activates G protein-mediated signaling, has been associated with a lower incidence of opioid-related adverse events (ORAEs). However, the effective dose of oliceridine for tracheal intubation in pediatric anesthesia was unknown.

In this prospective, double-blind, sequential allocation study, 100 children scheduled for general anesthesia were enrolled. An initial intravenous bolus of oliceridine and sufentanil was set at 70 μg/kg and 0.3 μg/kg. Subsequent doses were determined by the response of the previous participant using a biased coin up-and-down design (BCUD). Successful sedation was defined as the changes of hemodynamics was less than 20% of baseline. The 90% effective dose (ED₉₀) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated, using isotonic regression.

For tracheal intubation in children aged 1-12 years, the ED₉₀ of oliceridine was 74.3 μg/kg (95% CI: 73.6 to 77.4 μg/kg), while that of sufentanil was 0.34 μg/kg (95% CI: 0.32 to 0.42 μg/kg), yielding an equivalent dose ratio of approximately 220:1 (oliceridine: sufentanil). The incidences of hemodynamic changes were comparable between groups before and after tracheal intubation. No hypoxemia was observed after administration of oliceridine and sufentanil. All adverse events were self-limited and no intervention was required.

Oliceridine at an ED₉₀ of 74.3 μg/kg can be effectively used for tracheal intubation during pediatric anesthesia.