Nalbuphine for Analgesia After Orthognathic Surgery and Its Effect on Postoperative Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial

Postoperative pain is a negative factor that seriously affects a surgical patient's rehabilitation. We investigated whether nalbuphine provides superior postoperative analgesia in orthognathic surgery compared with sufentanil and whether the superior analgesia is achieved by the regulation of inflammatory and oxidative stress.In the present randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial, 60 patients scheduled to undergo orthognathic surgery were randomized to receive 2.5 μg/kg of sufentanil (group S) or 2 mg/kg of nalbuphine (group N) for postoperative controlled intravenous analgesia. The primary outcome variable was the visual analog scale (VAS) score. The secondary outcome variables included the sedation score (Ramsay score) and plasma levels of inflammation factors, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and oxidant stress factors, including malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD).The VAS scores of group N were significantly lower than those of group S, and the Ramsay scores for group N were greater. The plasma levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and MDA for group N were significantly lower than those for group S, and the SOD levels were greater than those for group S. Furthermore, the VAS scores correlated positively with the plasma levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and MDA and correlated negatively with the SOD levels.Nalbuphine offers better postoperative analgesia and sedation after orthognathic surgery. Nalbuphine also seems to provide superior postoperative analgesia by reducing inflammatory and oxidative stress.