[Prophylactic analgesia in functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Hemodynamics, surgical conditions, stress response].

OBJECTIVE: Sufficient control of intraoperative bleeding in functional endoscopic sinus surgery is essential for obtaining adequate surgical results. The necessity of hypotensive anesthetic techniques is a controversial topic among anesthesiologists and ENT-surgeons. This prospective, randomized study compared N2O-supplemented intravenous anesthesia with propofol and fentanyl or sufentanil with respect to hemodynamic reactions, endocrine stress response, blood loss and surgical conditions, and recovery. METHODS: After obtaining informed consent, 32 patients undergoing endoscopic sinus procedures were anesthetized with N2O, propofol, and fentanyl or sufentanil (dosage ratio fentanyl:sufentanil = 7:1). Arterial blood pressure was measured via an arterial line, blood samples for ACTH, AVP, and cortisol were obtained pre-, intra-, and post-operatively, and a psychomotor function test was conducted pre- and postoperatively. The ENT-surgeon estimated the dryness of the surgical field on a numeric scale ranging from 1 to 5, and intraoperative blood loss was measured. RESULTS: Hemodynamic reactions to surgical simulation were blunted more sufficiently in the sufentanil group. Surgical conditions were satisfactory in all patients, but significantly better in the sufentanil group; differences in blood loss did not prove statistically significant. The endocrine stress response was efficiently blunted without significant differences between the groups. Post-operative psychomotor testing showed better recovery in the sufentanil group. CONCLUSIONS: N2O-supplemented intravenous anesthesia is suitable for functional endoscopic sinus procedure without any further need for induced hypotension; sufentanil seems to be superior in regard to hemodynamic stability, surgical conditions, and psychomotor recovery.