[Balanced anesthesia using the new Russian analgesic fenaridina in cardiovascular surgery and its effect on...

A new analgesic fenaridine which was used as a component of balanced anesthesia in 160 operations of aortocoronary bypass has been studied. It has been shown that fenaridine is a potent analgesic, exceeding fentanyl in the duration of action and in its analgetic effect. Fenaridine has a pronounced sedative effect and like other analgesics causes a dose-dependent depression of respiration. The drug has a vasodilating activity, causing both venous and arterial dilatation. This leads to a decrease in CVP by 25-30%, on the one hand, and to a drop in BP by 20%, on the other hand. Fenaridine decreases Vmax and dP/dt by 18 and 20%, respectively, with a parallel decline in HR by 13% from the baseline. A marked vasodilating effect and potentiation of the action of diazepam and other benzodiazepines in prompt injection of both drugs or when the maximum dose of fenaridine is used may lead to the onset of hypotension, and thus the drug should be used with care in critical patients with hypovolemia. The use of lower fenaridine doses (not exceeding 0.001 mg/kg) and slow injection (up to 11-13 min), as well as its combination with ketamine at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg makes it possible to avoid these unfavourable adverse events and to ensure smooth induction even in critically ill patients.