Effect of pretreatment with a small dose of esketamine on sufentanil-induced cough during anesthesia induction: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Sufentanil-induced cough is common during the induction of anesthesia. The objective of this study was to determine whether pretreatment with a small dose of esketamine is effective in treating sufentanil-induced cough.

Methods: 220 patients were screened, and 200 patients who had scheduled elective surgery and were between 18 and 70 years old were randomly divided into two groups. Before sufentanil was administered, esketamine group (group K) was injected with 0.15 mg/kg esketamine at 5 s, and control group (group C) was administered with the same volume. Within 1 min after sufentanil(0.4ug/kg) injection during induction, cough incidence and severity were evaluated. After sufentanil was injected, we recorded its hemodynamic changes and side effects.

Results: In the esketamine group (group K) and control group (group C), there was an incidence of cough of 5 and 34%, respectively. The esketamine group (group K) had a significantly lower incidence and severity of cough compared to the control group (group C) immediately after sufentanil injection (P < 0.05). MAP and HR did not differ significantly between the two groups during three different times of general anesthesia induction (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: In our study, we found that sufentanil-induced cough was significantly reduced by pretreatment with 0.15 mg/kg esketamine, but with no significant changes in the hemodynamic status.

Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200063821, registered date: 17/09/2022), http://www.chictr.org.cn.