Effect of Fentanyl on the Gortisol and Hyperglycemic Response to Abdominal Surgery

Abstract

Plasma cortisol and glucose were measured during upper abdominal surgery in 25 patients randomly allocated to groups receiving fentanyl doses of 10, 30 or 50 μg.kg ‐1 . The results showed that fentanyl 50 μg.kg ‐1 abolished the cortisol response to surgery observed in patients receiving 10 or 30 μg.kg ‐1 . In contrast, the hyperglycemic response was uninfluenced by fentanyl at any dose.