Abstract:Objective To compare the efficacy of esketamine versus butorphanol combined with sufentanil in patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) after mixed hemorrhoids surgery.Methods Seventy-four patients undergoing mixed hemorrhoids resection at Fuyang People's Hospital from June 2021 to July 2022 were selected, and were divided into the control group and the observation group by the random number table method, with 37 patients in each group. The control group was treated with butorphanol combined with sufentanil for PCIA after operation, and the observation group was treated with esketamine combined with sufentanil for PCIA after operation. The analgesic effect [Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) ] and cognitive function [Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale] of the two groups of patients at different times after surgery were compared. The serum levels of stress indicators [adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol (COR) ] were detected, the first pressing time of PCIA and the VAS score for the first defecation were recorded, the amount of sufentanil and the number of PCIA press within 48 hours after surgery were counted, and the safety of analgesic drugs was observed.Results The HR and SpO2 of the observation group and the control group before anesthesia, and 5 min and 15 min after anesthesia were compared, which exhibited that they were different among the time points (P < 0.05) but not between the groups (P > 0.05), and that there was no significant difference in the change trends of HR and SpO2 between the two groups (P > 0.05). The VAS scores of the observation group and the control group at 2 h, 4 h, 24 h and 48 h after operation were compared, which demonstrated that they were different among the time points (P < 0.05) and between the groups (P < 0.05), where the observation group had a lower VAS score indicative of a better analgesic effect. Besides, there was a significant difference in the change trend of VAS scores between the two groups (P < 0.05). The differences of ACTH and COR levels before and 48 hours after operation in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the difference of MoCA scores before and 1 month after operation between the observation group and the control group (P > 0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the total dose of sufentanil, the first pressing time of PCIA, the VAS score for the first defecation and the number of PCIA press between the observation group and the control group (P < 0.05). The VAS score for the first defecation, the number of PCIA press and the total dose of sufentanil within 48 hours after operation in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05), and the first pressing time of PCIA in the observation group was longer than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The overall incidence of adverse reactions of the observation group and the control group were 21.62% and 24.32%, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05).Conclusions Compared with butorphanol combined with sufentanil, esketamine combined with sufentanil can improve the analgesic effect of PCIA after mixed hemorrhoids surgery, avoid cognitive impairment, and reduce the dose of sufentanil and the number of PCIA presses, without increasing the occurrence of adverse reactions.