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British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
. 1994 Oct;38(4):369–372. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1994.tb04368.x

Pharmacokinetics and effects on intracranial pressure of sufentanil in head trauma patients.

J Scholz 1, H Bause 1, M Schulz 1, U Klotz 1, D R Krishna 1, S Pohl 1, J Schulte am Esch 1
PMCID: PMC1364782  PMID: 7833228

Abstract

Ten patients with head trauma received an intravenous bolus of sufentanil (2 micrograms kg-1) followed at 30 min by infusion of sufentanil (median 150 micrograms h-1) and midazolam (median 9.0 mg h-1) over 48 h. Median (range) values of pharmacokinetic parameters for sufentanil were: t1/2,z = 16 (7-49) h; CL = 1215 (519-2550) ml min-1; CLR = 7 (2-38) ml min-1; Vss = 10.0 (6.8-24.2) 1 kg-1. Decreases in intracranial pressure (ICP) (from 16.1 +/- 1.7 to 10.8 +/- 1.3 mm Hg; P < 0.05) and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) (from 85.5 +/- 3.9 to 80.2 +/- 4.9 mm Hg; P < 0.05) were observed within 15 min of the bolus injection of sufentanil and remained unchanged thereafter. Thus, cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP = MAP-ICP) was stable.

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Selected References

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