Individual titration of propofol plasma target improves anaesthetic stability in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery: a comparison with manually controlled infusion.

Background And Objective: The impact of anaesthesia using target-controlled infusion with propofol on intraoperative stability, recovery and cost compared to manually controlled infusion has been evaluated with inconsistent results. We studied a new device that allows more individual titration of propofol target-controlled infusion by using the effect-site concentration at the loss of eyelash reflex to predict the maintenance infusion rate (FM-TCI).

Methods: Fifty-six patients undergoing major abdominal surgery lasting >2 h were randomly assigned to receive either FM-TCI (n = 28) or MCI-controlled (n = 28) anaesthesia. Both groups were Bispectral Index-monitored and thoracic epidural analgesia was established. Anaesthetic stability, incidence of haemodynamic abnormalities, time to extubation, propofol consumption and patient satisfaction were assessed.

Results: In the FM-TCI group, a significantly improved anaesthetic stability was achieved (0.43 +/- 0.44 vs. 1.31 +/- 0.78 adjustments of propofol infusion per patient per hour, P = 0.003) and time to extubation was significantly shorter (9.6 +/- 2.1 vs. 15.7 +/- 9.6 min P = 0.011). With FM-TCI, propofol consumption was significantly lower. Haemodynamic stability and patient satisfaction did not differ between the groups.

Conclusion: FM-TCI helps to provide more stable anaesthesia conditions requiring less-frequent adjustments of the propofol infusion compared to manually controlled infusion in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.