RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of intravenous cisatracurium besilate pretreatment on fentanyl-induced cough (FIC). METHODS: Totally 200 American Society of Anesthesiologists class I-II patients, aged 20-60 years within normal weight, scheduled for elective surgery, were randomly assigned to receive intravenous cisatracurium besilate 0.01 mg·kg-1 (group II) or normal saline (group 1) 5 min prior to the administration of fentanyl 4 μg·kg-1 in a randomized and double-blind fashion. Any episode of cough was classified as coughing, and graded as mild (1-2), moderate (3-4), or severe (5 or more). We recorded the timing and severity of cough and monitored the vital signs and discomforts such as dizziness, tinnitus, nausea/vomiting, apnea and dvsrhythmia. RESULTS: The gender distribution showed no significant difference between two groups. The incidence of cough was 19.0% (19/100) in group II and 41% (41/100) in group I (P<0.05). The incidence of moderate and severe cough was significantly Iiigher in the group I (56.1%, 23/41) than in group 1 (31.6%, 6/19) (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between these two groups in the timing of cough. Vital signs were stable in both groups and no difference was shown in discomforts. CONCLUSION: Cisatracurium besilate pretreatment can effectively reduce the incidence and severity of FIC.