Table 2: Safety and efficacy

Ref n total (R/C) Rate of hypoxia* n Rate of bradypnea/apnea* n Assisted ventilation n Rate of blood pressure deviation* n Rescue therapy or incomplete procedure n
R C p R C p R C R C p R C
Remifentanil vs. Propofol^
Lee et al. [17] 57 (25/32) 01 0 ns 6 10 ns 0 0 0 0 ns 0 0§
Bouvet et al. [19] 77 (41/36) 22 0 ns 0 0 ns 1 0 0 0 ns 0 0
Krenn et al. [20] 60 (30/30) NA5 NA 1 0 ns 0 0 NA NA ns 0 1
Holas et al. [22] 30 (15/15) 01 0 ns NA NA 0 0 0 0 ns 0 0
Lena et al. [26] 40 (20/20) 44 1 ns 1 0 ns 1 2 NA NA <0.01 0 2
Zhang et al. [29] 36 (18/18) 01 6 0.114 0 1 0 1 NA NA 0 1
Lallo et al. [30] 60 (30/30) 05 1 ns NA NA 0 1 0 0 ns 1 1
Ferraro et al. [31] 60 (30/30) 03 6 <0.05 0 6 <0.05 0 6 0 3 ns 0 0
Girard et al. [34] 40 (20/20) 05 0 ns' 0 0 ns 0 0 0 0 ns 0 0
Sub Total, n 460 (229/231) 6/199 14/201 0.106 8/184 17/186 0.093 2 10 0/161 3/163 0.248 1 5
% 3.0 7.0 4.3 9.1 0.0 1.8
Remifentanil vs. Midazolam + opioid
Avramov et al. [3] 81 (19/62) NA5 NA NA NA <0.01 NA NA NA NA ns NA NA
Bonfreschi et al. [16] 50(25/25) 05 0 ns NA NA 0 0 0 0 ns 0 0
Fanti et al. [18] 90 (60/30) 31 1 ns NA NA 0 0 9 6 ns 1 8
Lier et al. [23] 78 (38/40) 52 0 <0.05 NA NA 0 0 0 0 ns 0 0
Puchner et al. [24] 74 (37/37) 02 0 ns 0 0 ns 0 0 0 0 ns 0 1
Manolaraki et al. [25] 116 (60/56) 11 10 <0.005 0 16 <0.001 0 0 1 26 <0.001 0 0
Ferraro et al. [31] 60 (30/30) 03 5 <0.05 0 5 <0.05 0 5 0 2 ns 0 0
Sub Total, n 549 (269/280) 9/250 16/218 0.098 0/127 21/123 <0.005 0 5 10/250 34/218 <0.005 0 1
% 3.6 7.3 0 17.1 0.4 15.6
Remifentanil vs. opioid
Orbach-zinger et al. [12] 30 (14/16) 05 0 ns 0 0 ns 0 0 0 0 ns 1 1
Cortinez et al. [27] 44 (22/22) 51 13 ns NA NA 0 0 0 0 ns 0 4
Akgül et al. [35] 80 (40/40) 01 0 ns NA NA 0 0 0 0 ns 0 0
Sub Total, n 154 (76/78) 5/76 13/78 0.077 0/14 0/16 ns 0 0 0/76 0/78 ns 1 5
% 6.6 16.6 0 0 0 0
Remifentanil vs. Propofol + Remifentanil
Joo et al. [13] 120 (60/60) 41 14 0.02 9 31 <0.001 NA NA NA NA 1 1
Holas et al. [22] 30 (15/15) 01 0 ns NA NA 0 0 0 0 ns 0 0
Sub Total, n 150 (75/75) 4/75 14/75 0.022 9/60 31/60 <0.001 0 0 0/75 0/75 ns 1 1
% 5.3 18.7 15 41.3 0 0
Remifentanil vs. TIVA: Propofol+Remifentanil
Majholm et al. [15] 91 (49/42) NA5 NA ns NA NA ns 0 NA NA NA ns 1 0
Remifentanil vs. Dexmedetomidine
Hu et al. [14] 40 (20/20) 21 0 0.147 2 0 ns 0 0 0 0 ns 0 0
Total, n 1444 (718/726) 26/620 57/592 <0.005 19/435 69/435 <0.005 2 15 10/522 37/494 <0.005 4 12 p=0.045
% 4.2 9.6 4.4 15.9 0.2 7.5


n: number of participants, R: Remifentanil, C: Control, P: p-value, *as defined by author (SAT%: 1 <90%, 2<92%, 3<94%, 4<95%, 5: NA) ' : ns: non-significant. '' Midazolam vs propofol were also studied, ´´´ a placebo was also studied, ^ Propofol vs Propofol+Remifentanil were also studied. Different Midazolam + Remifentanil doses were studied. NA: Not available, §: 7 persons were excluded due to unintentional deep sedation. P-values were calculated using X2 or Fischers exact test.