It remains unclear whether opioid-free anesthesia (OFA), when compared to opioid-sparing anesthesia (OSA), reduces postoperative opioid consumption while still providing adequate pain control. We thus tested the hypothesis that patients having an OFA strategy during laparoscopic colectomy would require less postoperative opioids when compared to an OSA strategy.

This single-center, prospective randomized controlled superiority trial, randomly allocated consecutive patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy to receive either sevoflurane-dexmedetomidine anesthesia with a continuous infusion of lidocaine and ketamine (OFA group) or sevoflurane-sufentanil boluses anesthesia with a continuous infusion of lidocaine (OSA group). Both groups received multimodal antinociception with boluses of dexamethasone, lidocaine, and ketamine during anesthesia induction, as well as acetaminophen, ketoprofen, and nefopam before the end of the surgery. OFA patients also received a dose of magnesium sulfate during induction. The primary outcome was cumulative opioid consumption at 48 h after surgery, expressed in oral morphine equivalents (OME). Secondary exploratory outcomes were pain scores, opioid-related adverse events, and patient quality of life (WHODAS score).

Of the 160 randomized patients, 155 were included in a modified intention-to-treat analysis. Median [Q1–Q3] OME consumption at 48 h after surgery did not differ between groups (9 [0–30] mg for OFA vs. 14 [0–30] mg for OSA; p = 0.861). Key secondary outcomes were not different between groups except a three time higher incidence of bradycardia in the OFA group.

In patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy with a multimodal antinociception protocol, OFA, when compared to OSA, did not decrease postoperative opioid consumption.

NCT05031234.