Esketamine versus Sufentanil Applied Prior to Placement of Suspension Laryngoscope

Objective In laryngeal microsurgery, the insertion of the suspension laryngoscope is a strong stimulus that may cause hemodynamic fluctuations and adverse cardiovascular events. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of preemptive treatment with esketamine and sufentanil on maintaining hemodynamics and reducing the occurrence of adverse cardiovascular events during the insertion of suspension laryngoscope. Methods In this double‐blind randomized controlled trial, patients undergoing general anesthesia for laryngeal microsurgery were randomly assigned (1:1) to esketamine 0.5 mg kg −1 (esketamine group) and sufentanyl 0.125 μg kg −1 (sufentanil group) before inserting the laryngoscope, respectively. Results During the insertion of suspension laryngoscope, the incidence of bradycardia (HR < 60 beats/min) was 39.3% (22/56) in esketamine group, lower than 60.0% (33/55) in sufentanil group (odds ratio [OR], 2.32 [95% CI, 1.11–5.08]; p = 0.029). The incidence of hypotension (MAP <65 mmHg) was 33.9% (19/56) in esketamine group, lower than 56.4% (31/55) in sufentanil group (odds ratio [OR], 2.52 [95% CI, 1.91–5.27]; p = 0.018). The frequency of hypotension in esketamine group was lower than that in sufentanil group (0.36 ± 0.52 vs. 0.56 ± 0.50, p = 0.035). The time‐weighted average of HR dropping above 30% of baseline was smaller in esketamine group than in sufentanil group (0.52 ± 2.06 vs. 1.08 ± 2.77, p = 0.006). Conclusions These findings showed that compared with preemptive treatment of sufentanil (0.125 μg kg −1 ), esketamine (0.5 mg kg −1 ) was effective in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular adverse events, including bradycardia and hypotension induced by the insertion of suspension laryngoscope during the laryngeal microsurgery. Level of Evidence 2 Laryngoscope , 133:3021–3027, 2023