Controlled hypotension is used to reduce bleeding and improve surgical conditions during surgery. Nicardipine and remifentanil have been used to induce controlled hypotension in healthy patients. This study compared controllability of nicardipine and remifentanil on hemodynamic stability during controlled hypotension.

Forty healthy patients scheduled for orthognathic two jaw surgery were randomly allocated to nicardipine (group N) and remifentanil (group R) group. After induction of anesthesia, group N (n = 20) was infused with nicardipine to induce hypotension and group R (n = 20) was infused with remifentanil. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were measured over 5 minute interval. Surgical field rating and blood loss were measured after surgery.

HR was lower in group R than group N. MAP was maintained at 50-60 mmHg during controlled hypotension but the fluctuation of blood pressure and HR were more frequent in group N than group R. There were no significant differences in the surgical field rating and blood loss between the groups.

Nicardipine and remifentanil enabled controlled hypotension and provided good surgical conditions, but the fluctuation of hemodynamic parameters was more frequent in nicardipine group.