SynthesisCurrent clinical pharmacology2019
Comparison of Fentanyl, Remifentanil, Sufentanil and Alfentanil in Combination with Propofol for General Anesthesia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in Current clinical pharmacology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Induction strategies for preventing hemodynamic changes after intubation in non-cardiac surgery patients: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Optimal dosing of ciprofol for gastrointestinal endoscopy: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of efficacy and safety profiles of perioperative sufentanil and remifentanil: a systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.Systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of ciprofol versus propofol for anesthesia induction in adult patients received elective surgeries: a meta‑analysis.BMC anesthesiology · 2024Pooled it
- Global research on sufentanil use in anesthesiology from 2003 to 2023: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of different doses of alfentanil on tracheal intubation stress responses in ambulatory hysteroscopic surgery: a randomized, double-blind, clinical comparative study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Trial
- Respiratory depression in women receiving propofol/esketamine versus propofol/fentanyl for abortion surgery or curettage: a randomized clinical trial.Annals of medicine · 2025Trial
- Esketamine attenuates hemodynamic oscillations during anesthesia induction in elderly gastrointestinal surgical patients: a randomized trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2025Trial
- The effect-site concentration of remifentanil blunting endotracheal intubation responses in elderly patients during anesthesia induction with etomidate: a dose-exploration study.BMC anesthesiology · 2025Trial
- Effect of High Maintenance Dose Versus Low Dose of Remifentanil on Incidence of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) in Patients Under Gynecological Laparoscopic Procedure: A Pilot Study.Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Trial
- The Median Effective Concentration (EC50) of Alfentanil Combined with Propofol Closed-Loop Targeted Infusion in Super-Elderly Patients Undergoing Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Trial
- The effect of esketamine combined with propofol-induced general anesthesia on cerebral blood flow velocity: a randomized clinical trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2024Trial
- Low-Dose Alfentanil Inhibits Sufentanil-Induced Cough During Anesthesia Induction: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind Study.Drug design, development and therapy · 2024Trial
- Comparison of the Safety and Efficacy of Remimazolam Besylate versus Dexmedetomidine for Patients Undergoing Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial.Drug design, development and therapy · 2024Trial
- The ED50 and ED95 of esketamine for preventing early postoperative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a prospective, double-blinded trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2023Trial
- The effects of the administration sequence and the type of hypnotics on the development of remifentanil-induced chest wall rigidity: a randomized controlled trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2023Trial
- Efficacy and safety of ciprofol versus propofol for the induction of anesthesia in adult patients: a multicenter phase 2a clinical trial.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2023Trial
- Impact of Opioid-Free Anesthesia on Postoperative Quality of Recovery in Patients After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy-A Randomized Controlled Trial.Drug design, development and therapy · 2023Trial
- Ketorolac tromethamine pretreatment suppresses sufentanil-induced cough during general anesthesia induction: a prospective randomized controlled trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2020Trial
- Porous Baicalin-Fe(III) ICP@Propofol nanocomposites for enhanced anesthetic efficacy and reduced toxicity via neuroprotection and ultrasound assistance.Asian journal of pharmaceutical sciences · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOpioid analgesics are commonly used along with propofol during general anesthesia. Due to the dearth of data on the quality of anesthesia achieved with this combination, the present meta-analysis was carried out.
methodsElectronic databases were searched for appropriate studies using a suitable search strategy. Randomized clinical trials comparing the combination of remifentanil/sufentanil/alfentanil with propofol with fentanyl and propofol, were included. The outcome measures were as follows: total propofol dose to achieve the desired general anesthesia; time of onset and duration of general anesthesia; depth of general anesthesia; and recovery time (time for eye-opening and time taken for extubation). Risk of bias was assessed and Forest plots were generated for eligible outcomes. The weighted mean difference [95% confidence intervals] was used as the effect estimate.
resultsFourteen studies were included in the systematic review and 13 were included in the metaanalysis. Statistically significant differences were observed for remifentanil in comparison to fentanyl when combined with propofol: Propofol dose (in mg) -76.18 [-94.72, -57.64]; time of onset of anesthesia (min) -0.44 [-0.74, -0.15]; time taken for eye-opening (min) -3.95 [-4.8, -3.1]; and time for extubation (min) -3.53 [-4.37, -2.7]. No significant differences were observed for either sufentanil or alfentanil about the dose of propofol required and due to scanty data, pooling of the data could not be attempted for other outcome measures for either sufentanil or alfentanil.
conclusionTo conclude, we found that remifentanil has a statistically significant anesthetic profile than fentanyl when combined with propofol. Scanty evidence for both alfentanil and sufentanil precludes any such confirmation.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.