According to a recent study in BMC Anesthesiology, the dosage of sufentanil for endotracheal intubation can be decreased with aerosol inhalation of lidocaine via an ultrasonic atomizer.

Nebulized lidocaine has been known to lower the “fight or flight” response for intubation. The study authors- Qiaoqiao Xu et al. deliberated aerosol inhalation of lidocaine via an ultrasonic atomizer, to find out if sufentanil dosage for intubation could be decreased or not.

To solve the basis of this single centre, prospective, double-blind clinical trial, sufentanil intravenous injection of 0.5 μg per kg was initiated and its dose was varied (step-size 0.05 μg per kg) with the help of Dixon’s up and down method. After 8 reflexes, the observation was dismissed. Overall, 36 patients were included, out of which 2 withdrew due to poor coordinate in lidocaine inhalation.

The effective concentration of sufentanil (EC50 and EC95) with inhaled lidocaine by an ultrasonic atomizer for intubation was 0.232 and 0.447 μg per kg. Notably, 23 (55.88%) patients portrayed hemodynamic index change less than 20% of starting point for the duration of endotracheal intubation. Hence, the therapeutic application of nebulized lidocaine for the upper respiratory tract has been confirmed in this study.