Interaction between postoperative shivering and hyperalgesia caused by high-dose remifentanil

Authors
Y.K. Song, C. Lee, D.H. Seo, S.N. Park, S.Y. Moon et al.


Lab
Wonkwang University College of Medicine, Iksan, Korea.

Journal
Korean Journal of Anesthesiology

Abstract
Background
High-dose remifentanil-based anesthesia is associated with opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) and postanesthetic shivering (PAS). These effects can be prevented by N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists. This study aimed to investigate correlations between OIH and PAS caused by high-dose remifentanil and the effects of low-dose ketamine on OIH and PAS.
Methods
Seventy-five patients scheduled for single-port laparoscopic gynecologic surgery were randomly allocated into three groups, each of which received intraoperative remifentanil: group L at 0.1 µg/kg/min; group H at 0.3 µg/kg/min; and group HK at 0.3 µg/kg/min plus 0.25 mg/kg ketamine just before incision, followed by a continuous infusion of 5 µg/kg/min ketamine until skin closure.
Results
PAS, postoperative tactile pain threshold, and the extent of hyperalgesia in group H were significantly different (P < 0.05) than in the other two groups. PAS was significantly correlated with OIH, including mechanically evoked pain such as postoperative tactile pain threshold (r = -0.529, P = 0.01) (r = -0.458, P = 0.021) and the extent of hyperalgesia (r = 0.537, P = 0.002) (r = 0.384, P = 0.031), respectively, in group H and group HK. Notably, both groups were treated with high-dose remifentanil. Tympanic membrane temperature, time to first postoperative analgesic requirement, postoperative pain scores, analgesic consumption, and cumulative patient-controlled analgesia volume containing morphine were comparable in all three groups.

Conclusions
OIH, including the enhanced perception of pain, and PAS were both associated with high-dose remifentanil, were significantly correlated and were attenuated by a low dose of ketamine. This suggests that a common mechanism in part mediated through activation of the central glutamatergic system (e.g., NMDA receptors), underlies the two effects caused by high doses of remifentanil.

BIOSEB Instruments Used:
Von Frey Filaments (Bio-VF-M)

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