Abstract:Objective To observe the effect of nalbuphine and sufentanil combined with flurbiprofen axetil on the release of pain mediators during patient controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) after laparoscopic hysterectomy.Methods Ninety-eight patients who undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy in The First Hospital of Hohhot from February 2020 to February 2023 were included and divided into the sufentanil group and the nalbuphine group by simple random sampling, with 49 cases in each group. The sufentanil group was given 2.0 μg/kg of sufentanil plus 2.0 mg/kg of flurbiprofen axetil for PCIA, and the nalbuphine group was given 2.0 mg/kg of nalbuphine plus 2.0 mg/kg of flurbiprofen axetil for PCIA. The number of effective PCIA intervention within 24 h and between 24 h and 48 h postoperatively in the two groups was recorded. The rate of rescue analgesia, incidence of adverse reactions, and the additional dose of antiemetic drugs in the two groups were also recorded. Patients in the two groups were evaluated via the visual analog scale at rest and on motion as well as the ramsay sedation scale. The mechanical pain threshold around the surgical incision, stress response and levels of pain mediators were detected in the two groups.Results The number of effective PCIA intervention within 24 h and between 24 h and 48 h in the nalbuphine group was lower than that in the sufentanil group (P < 0.05). The rate of rescue analgesia in the nalbuphine group was also lower than that in the sufentanil group (P < 0.05). The VAS scores at rest and on motion, the Ramsay Sedation Scale scores, and the mechanical pain threshold around the surgical incision 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h after the surgery in the two groups were compared. The results revealed that VAS scores at rest and on motion and the mechanical pain threshold around the surgical incision but not the Ramsay Sedation Scale scores were different among the time points (P < 0.05), and that all of them and the change trends thereof were different between the two groups (P < 0.05). The stress response and the levels of pain mediators before and 24 h and 48 h after the surgery were compared between the nalbuphine group and the sufentanil group, which demonstrated that there were differences in the levels of cortisol (Cor), blood glucose (Glu), norepinephrine (NE), substance P (SP), neuropeptide Y (NPY) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) among different time points and between the two groups (P < 0.05), and that the change trends of these indicators were different between the two groups (P < 0.05). The incidence of nausea and vomiting in the nalbuphine group was lower than that in the sufentanil group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of drowsiness, chills and agitation between the two groups (P > 0.05). The additional dose of antiemetics in the nalbuphine group was lower than that in the sufentanil group (P < 0.05).Conclusions Nalbuphine combined with flurbiprofen axetil for analgesia after laparoscopic hysterectomy could inhibit the stress response and the release of pain mediators, increase the mechanical pain threshold, reduce postoperative pain, and lower the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting.