Excessive amount of sufentanil can increase the postoperative ileus of patients with laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the common tumors that seriously threaten human health worldwide. As a commonly used opioid pain medication, sufentanil is widely used in laparoscopic anesthesia for colorectal cancer. Opioids have the effect of inhibiting gastrointestinal activity, however, there is few research on the effect of sufentanil on gastrointestinal tract inhibition. Therefore, we hope to clarify the relationship between the dosage of sufentanil and the time of postoperative obstruction of laparoscopic colorectal cancer by analyzing the correlation between the two and find the standard for the use of sufentanil in anesthesia of these patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 217 patients with colorectal cancer included in this study, collected their doses of sufentanil, postoperative ileus time, clinical data and grouped them. The above data were statistically analyzed. Results: The average age of the sample patients was 62.02 years old and the average weight was 67.87 kg, including 79 cases of colon cancers and 138 cases of rectal cancers. Among them, 81 patients received laparoscopic surgery with ostomy. The average dose of sufentanil and that distributed by weight was 35.58ug and 0.54ug/kg, meanwhile the average time of ileus was 2.27 days. It was found that the longer duration of intestinal obstruction occurred in elderly patients and patients without ostomy or colon cancers (P<0.05). Patients given high dose of sufentanil to per kg weight were more likely to develop long-term ileus (4.200 days P<0.05) , which was more pronounced in non-ostomy cohorts. Conclusion: Higher doses of sufentanil on average body weight lead to poor intestinal activity and long ileus time in patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery, especially in patients without ostomy. Keywords: Sufentanil, colorectal cancer, postoperative ileus