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Summary Background : Analgesia-based sedation techniques are becoming more established in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. The aim of this study was to compare remifentanil and fentanyl infusions for postoperative analgesia in pediatric ICU patients. Methods : After receiving ethical committee approval, a prospective randomized, double-blind study was performed. Twenty-two postoperative orthopedic surgery patients received either remifentanil 0.1 μg·kg−1·min−1 or fentanyl 0.025 μg·kg−1·min−1 infusions diluted to the same volume. Analgesic infusion was titrated to predefined levels of analgesia [behavioral pain scale (BPS) score of 3]. Propofol was added if sedation was unsatisfactory after BPS score 3 had been achieved. Results : There were no differences in groups regarding demographics, tracheal extubation times, and pain scores of the patients. After cessation of the opioid infusion, the sedation scores and the heart rates were always higher in the remifentanil group compared with the fentanyl group. The incidences of nausea, vomiting, apnea, desaturation, reintubation within 24 h and constipation were also similar between the two groups. Conclusions : We conclude that a remifentanil infusion provides clinically comparable analgesia with a fentanyl infusion in mechanically ventilated postoperative pediatric patients. These two drugs are suitable for short-term analgesia-based sedation in pediatric postoperative ICU patients.

Myoclonic movements and pain on injection are common problems during induction of anesthesia with etomidate. We investigated the influence of pretreatment with magnesium and two doses of ketamine on the incidence of etomidate-induced myoclonus and pain. A prospective double-blind study was performed on 100 ASA physical status I-III patients who were randomized into 4 groups according to the pretreatment drug: ketamine 0.2 mg/kg, ketamine 0.5 mg/kg, magnesium sulfate (Mg) 2.48 mmol, or normal saline. Ninety seconds after the pretreatment, anesthesia was induced with etomidate 0.2 mg/kg. Vecuronium 0.1 mg/kg was used as the muscle relaxant. An anesthesiologist, blinded to group allocation, recorded the myoclonic movements, pain, and sedation on a scale between 0-3. Nineteen of the 25 patients receiving Mg (76%) did not have myoclonic movements after the administration of etomidate, whereas 18 patients (72%) in the ketamine 0.5 mg/kg, 16 patients (64%) in the ketamine 0.2 mg/kg, and 18 patients (72%) in the control group experienced myoclonic movements (P < 0.05). We conclude that Mg 2.48 mmol administered 90 s before the induction of anesthesia with etomidate is effective in reducing the severity of etomidate-induced myoclonic muscle movements and that ketamine does not reduce the incidence of myoclonic movements.