A Comparative Study of Uses of Ephedrine by Different Doses on Prevention of Hemodynamic Changes Accompanied with Induction of General Anesthesia through Propofol and Fentanyl without Adverse Effects

Background: Propofol and fentanyl combination are common with general anesthesia. However, hypotension and bradycardia are common during induction of anesthetic. This study aimed to compare the response of different doses of ephedrine for attenuation of the hemodynamic changes after anesthetic induction without adverse effects. Materials and Methods: This was a randomized, double-blinded, case-controlled clinical trial. One hundred and twenty adult patients were allocated into one of the four groups: receiving IV saline, ephedrine 0.05 mg/kg, 0.1 mg/kg, or 0.2 mg/kg respectively. Induction of anesthesia was done with propofol 3 mg/kg and fentanyl 1 mg/kg. Alterations in systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP, DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR) were calculated every 1 min after induction, and 2, 3, 4 and 5 min. Then, intubation was made. Results: Baseline hemodynamic variables were comparable between groups. Patients received 0.1 mg/kg, and 0.2 mg/kg had less drop in blood pressure both systolic and diastolic, MAP, and HR with no significant rise in side effects. The numbers of patients with hypotension were significantly lower in the group receiving ephedrine 0.2 mg/kg compared to other groups (P-value 0.05). Use of IV ephedrine at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg was shown to be useful for reduction of hemodynamic changes but did not eliminate the risk of blood pressure drop. Ephedrine 0.2 mg/kg was better without causing any adverse effects. We can conclude that ephedrine 0.1 mg/kg was suitable for minimizing or decreasing changes in hemodynamic at propofol-fentanyl induction but ephedrine 0.2 mg/kg was better without causing more adverse effects.