Comparison of the hemodynamic effects of propofol and ketamine as anesthetic induction agents during high-dose remifentanil administration: a single-center retrospective comparative study

BACKGROUND We hypothesized that ketamine, when administered as the anesthetic induction agent, may prevent cardiovascular depression during high-dose remifentanil administration, unlike propofol. To test our hypothesis, we retrospectively compared the hemodynamic effects of ketamine, during high-dose remifentanil administration, with those of propofol. METHODS Thirty-eight patients who underwent oral surgery at the Nagasaki University Hospital between April 2014 and June 2015 were included in this study. Anesthesia was induced by the following procedure: First, high-dose remifentanil (0.3-0.5 µg/kg/min) was administered 2-3 min before anesthesia induction; next, the anesthetic induction agent, either propofol (Group P) or ketamine (Group K), was administered. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and the heart rate were recorded by the automated anesthesia recording system at four time points: immediately before the administration of high-dose remifentanil (T1); immediately before the administration of propofol or ketamine (T2); 2.5 min (T3), and 5 min (T4) after the administration of the anesthetic induction agent. RESULTS In Group P, the MAP at T3 (75.7 ± 15.5 mmHg, P = 0.0015) and T4 (68.3 ± 12.5 mmHg, P < 0.001) were significantly lower than those at T1 (94.0 ± 12.4 mmHg). However, the MAP values in the K group were very similar (P = 0.133) at all time points. The heart rates in both Groups P (P = 0.254) and K (P = 0.859) remained unchanged over time. CONCLUSIONS We showed that ketamine, when administered as the anesthetic induction agent during high-dose remifentanil administration, prevents cardiovascular depression.