Gender Affects Dezocine Antagonizes Sufentanil Analgesia During Anesthesia Induction and Endotracheal Intubation: An Up-and-Down Sequential Allocation Trial

Abstract Background: In the clinic, dezocine has been used to inhibit sufentanil-induced cough (SIC). The aim of the study is to explore the effect of dezocine on the analgesic effect of sufentanil during anesthesia induction and endotracheal intubation.Methods: ASA I-II, adult patients undergoing general anesthesia and endotracheal intubation were enrolled. The intubation reaction including blood pressure and heart rate were measured. Dixon’s up‑and‑down method was used to calculate the median effective dose (ED50) of sufentanil required to blunt the intubation reaction for women and men separately. A dose‑response curve was generated by the probit analysis in each groups. Results: In females, the ED50 of sufentanil for blunting the intubation reaction in the nondezocine and dezocine groups was 0.23±0.03μg/kg and 0.26±0.05μg/kg, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the two groups (P>0.05); In males, the ED50 of sufentanil for blunting the intubation reaction in the nondezocine and dezocine groups was 0.35±0.03μg/kg and 0.43±0.04μg/kg, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups(P<0.05); The probit analysis revealed that the ED50 of sufentanil in the female&nondezocine and female&dezocine groups was 0.219μg/kg (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.183–0.248μg/kg) and 0.241μg/kg (95% CI, 0.192–0.282μg/kg), respectively; In males, the ED50 of sufentanil in the nondezocine and dezocine groups was 0.339μg/kg(95%CI, 0.291–0.374μg/kg) group and 0.409μg/kg(95%CI, 0.357–0.472μg/kg), respectively. Conclusions: Our data suggest that dezocine could antagonize sufentanil analgesic during anesthesia induction and endotracheal intubation in males but not in females.Clinical trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry; Trial registration number: ChiCTR2000039261; URL: http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=62951&htm=4.