Anaesthesia with sulfentanil-analgesia in carotid and vertebral arteriography. A comparison with fentanyl.

The effects of the analgesics sulfentanil (R 30730) and fentanyl, on autonimic stability, cardiovascular stability, respiratory depression and post-operative behaviour were compared in a standardised anaesthetic technique. Twenty-nine patients undergoing neurological arteriographies, were treated with one or more doses of 0.5 mg fentanyl; 22 patients were treated with an initial dose of 0.05 mg of sulfentanil followed by repeat injections of 0.025 mg, when necessary. The analgesic potency of sulfentanil proved to be 12 times that of fentanyl while (in contrast to fentanyl), the duration of the respiratory depression after sulfentanil did not differ significantly from the duration of optimal analgesia. The effects of both drugs on blood pressure and heart rate were minimal; autonomic stability was excellent. No serious side effects were seen in any of the patients. After sulfentanil analgesia the patients were more rapidly awake and lucid, than after fentanyl-analgesia. Further investigations with this new and promising drug seem to be of great interest.