Abstract: AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of ephdrine, propofol and ephedrine combined with propofol on fentanyl-induced cough during anesthesia induction. METHODS: 320 patients with ASA Ⅰ or Ⅱ for elective procedures were randomly assigned into four groups and the following medications were administered intravenously: patients in Group I(control group) received normal saline 2 mL, Group II (ephedrine group) received ephedrine 6 mg, Group III (propofol group) received propofol 0.8 mg/kg and Group IV (ephedrine plus propofol group) received ephedrine 6 mg plus propofol 0.8 mg/kg . At one minute after the study medication, fentanyl 2.0 μg/kg was given intravenously within two seconds. The occurrence of cough and vital sign profiles were recorded within one minutes after fentanyl bolus.RESULTS: The incidence of FIC was 42.5% in group I, 18.8% in group II, 20.0% in group III, and 2.5% in group IV, respectively. Lower incidence and less severity of cough were observed in groups II, III, and IV than those in group I (P<0.05). Groups IV had a lower incidence and less severity of cough than those in group II and group III (P<0.05). Hemodynamics was more stable in group IV than that in other groups.CONCLUSION: Intravenous ephedrine 6 mg plus propofol 0.8 mg/kg could prevent fentanyl-induced cough effectively. lt is a convenient method to suppress fentanyl-induced cough with stable hemodynamics in this setting.

Key words: Fentanyl, Cough, Ephedrine, Propofol, Hemodynamic