A comparison of the efficacy of alfentanil and remifentanil analgesic infusions for spinal surgery.

Abstract

The use of alfentanil infusion was compared with that of remifentanil infusion for spinal cord surgery in a retrospective review. The aim was to compare the outcome when methohexitone was used as the only hypnotic agent in the two groups. Over a 3-year period, 5 patients (group 1) had Alfentanil infusion and 11 patients (group 2) had remifentanil infusion for analgesia during spinal cord surgery. Results showed that remifentanil lead to a faster onset of recorvery than alfentanil. It also provided better haemodynamic stability than alfentanil without excesive hypotension (p > 0.05). Our experience here indicated that remifentanil provided better flexibility of use with less tachycardia and respiratory depression than alfentanil for spinal surgery.