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Anesth Analg 2005;101:1677-1680
© 2005 International Anesthesia Research Society
doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000184119.85400.0E

ANESTHETIC PHARMACOLOGY

Vasodilation from Sufentanil in Humans

Thomas J. Ebert, MD, PhD, David J. Ficke, BS, Shahbaz R. Arain, MD, Melissa N. Holtz, BS, and Hariharan Shankar, MD

Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin and VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Address correspondence to Thomas J Ebert, MD, PhD, VA Medical Center/CC-112A, 5000 West National Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53295. Address e-mail to tjebert{at}mcw.edu.

Sufentanil is a potent opioid that occasionally has been associated with hypotension. The mechanism behind this hypotension is unclear. We hypothesized that sufentanil had a direct effect on vascular smooth muscle to cause vasodilation. Sufentanil was infused into the brachial artery of 10 young, healthy volunteers at rates of 0.083, 0.167, 0.333, and 0.833 µg/min. Forearm blood flow was measured in both the experimental and control arms with venous occlusion plethysmography. The forearm blood flow in the infused arm increased in a dose-dependent fashion from 3.2 to 5.2 mL/min per 100 mL of tissue whereas simultaneous measurements in the control (non-infused) arm did not increase. Heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure were unchanged during the infusions. Furthermore, respiratory rate did not change at any infusion level and sedation did not occur. Thus, the data support that significant systemic "spillover" of sufentanil did not occur. We conclude that sufentanil has a direct, vasodilatory effect on human vascular tissue that is likely independent of a neurogenic or systemic mechanism.






Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999 HighWire Press
Copyright © 2005 by the International Anesthesia Research Society.