Remifentanil in paediatric anaesthetic practice.
Remifentanil is a synthetic opioid, first introduced into clinical practice in 1996. Its unique pharmacokinetic profile has resulted in a gradual increase in its popularity in paediatric anaesthesia. It is an opioid of high potency and rapid clearance, consequently lacking problems of accumulation. These characteristics give it a high degree of predictability and it has become an attractive choice for a wide variety of anaesthetic challenges, from premature neonates to the elderly. Neonates and infants have a higher clearance than older children and, as a result, remifentanil has additional benefits in this group. Remifentanil can be described as the only consistently predictable opioid in paediatric practice.
Marsh
D F
DF
Department of Anaesthesia, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, UK. debbie.marsh@porthosp.nhs.uk
Hodkinson
B
B
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002648:Child; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control; D010880:Piperidines / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000077208:Remifentanil; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000187:drug effects
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D010880:Piperidines; D000077208:Remifentanil