ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of preemptive analgesia with nalbuphine on inflammatory factors in elderly patients undergoing thoracotomy. Methods Eighty elderly patients with ASA I or Ⅱ undergoing thoracotomy were randomly allocated into control group (group C:n=40) and Nalbuphine group (group N:n=40). Each patient received 20 mg of Nalbuphine intravenously before induction of anesthesia in group N and same volume of normal saline in group C. Plasma levels of IL-10, TNF-α and IL-6 were measured at different time points. The VAS was recorded and the MAP, HR, SpO2 and PaCO2 were monitored. Results Compared with group C, the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were lower, while IL-10 was higher at T2, T3, T4 in group N(P < 0.05). The VAS, MAP, HR and PaCO2 in group N were lower than those in group C at T2, T3 and T4 (P < 0.05). Conclusion Preemptive analgesia with Nalbuphine can improve the efficacy of postoperative analgesia and effectively reduce inflammatory reaction in the old patients undergoing thoracotomy.