SynthesisMedicine2021
Comparison between remifentanil and other opioids in adult critically ill patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic meta-review of interventions to prevent and manage delirium in the Intensive Care Unit: Part 1 - Pharmacological interventions.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Anesthetic Management of Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis: A Narrative Review with an Illustrative Case in Cardiac Surgery.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
- Comparative efficacy of remifentanil and fentanyl in mechanically ventilated ICU patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis on ventilation duration and delirium incidence.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2025Article
- Remifentanil Ameliorates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammation by Regulating the Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase/Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 Alpha Pathway.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2025Article
- Comparison of Oliceridine to Remifentanil for Optimal Analgesia in Mechanical Ventilation (CO-ROAM): Study Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.Pain and therapy · 2024Article
- The Prediction of Postoperative Delirium Using the Preoperative Assessments of Frailty and Cognitive Impairment in Aged Patients.Clinical interventions in aging · 2024Article
- Remi-fent 1-A pragmatic randomised controlled study to evaluate the feasibility of using remifentanil or fentanyl as sedation adjuncts in mechanically ventilated patients.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2023Article
- Efficacy of Remifentanil in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Cureus · 2023Review
- Sedation for Patients with Sepsis: Towards a Personalised Approach.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Review
- Sustaining Life versus Altering Life-Saving Drugs: Insights to Explain the Paradoxical Effect of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation on Drugs.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- A review of key strategies to address the shortage of analgesics and sedatives in pediatric intensive care.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2022Review
- Remifentanil use in intensive care units: Current evidence and future perspectives.Acute medicine & surgeryReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsTo identify the efficacy and safety of remifentanil when compared with other opioids in adult critically ill patients.
methodsWe searched for studies in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and EMBASE that had been published up to May 31st, 2019. Randomized clinical trials using remifentanil comparing with other opioids for analgesia were included. Two reviewers independently applied eligibility criteria, assessed quality, and extracted data. Duration of mechanical ventilation was the primary outcome, and secondary outcomes included weaning time, intensive care unit (ICU), length of stay (LOS), hospital LOS, mortality, side effects, and costs.
resultsFifteen studies with 1233 patients were included. Remifentanil was associated with a significant reduction in the duration of mechanical ventilation in the adult ICU patients when compared with other opioids (P = .01). Remifentanil also reduced the weaning time (P = .02) and the ICU LOS when compared with other opioids (P = .01). There was no difference in the hospital LOS (P = .15), side effects (P = .39), and mortality (P = .79) between remifentanil and other opioids, what's more, remifentanil increased the costs of anesthesia (P < .001) but did not increase cost of hospitalization (P = .30) when comparing with other opioids.
conclusionsRemifentanil reduced the duration of mechanical ventilation, weaning time, and ICU LOS when compared with other opioids in adult critically ill patients. Higher quality RCTs are necessary to prove our findings. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42016041438.
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Registered trials
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.