Wang WX, Dang FL, Li TT, Yu Y. Nalbuphine vs sufentanil as effective analgesics for postoperative pain management in gastric cancer resection. World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther 2025; 16(2): 103232 [PMID: 40575361 DOI: 10.4292/wjgpt.v16.i2.103232]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yue Yu, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy and Fujian Center for New Drug Safety Evaluation, Fujian Medical University, No. 1 Xuefu North Road, New District, Fuzhou 350013, Fujian Province, China. yyu@fjmu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther. Jun 5, 2025; 16(2): 103232 Published online Jun 5, 2025. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v16.i2.103232
Nalbuphine vs sufentanil as effective analgesics for postoperative pain management in gastric cancer resection
Wei-Xiang Wang, Fu-Lin Dang, Ting-Ting Li, Yue Yu
Wei-Xiang Wang, Department of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Nanjing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing 210003, Jiangsu Province, China
Fu-Lin Dang, Huangyuan County People's Hospital, Xining 810000, Qinghai Province, China
Ting-Ting Li, Department of Geriatrics, Xining Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xining 810000, Qinghai Province, China
Yue Yu, School of Pharmacy and Fujian Center for New Drug Safety Evaluation, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350013, Fujian Province, China
Co-first authors: Wei-Xiang Wang and Fu-Lin Dang.
Author contributions: Wang WX and Dang FL contributed to this paper; Wang WX, Dang FL, and Li TT contributed to the writing, and editing the manuscript, illustrations, and review of literature; Yu Y designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript, contributed to the discussion and design of the manuscript; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82404612.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yue Yu, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy and Fujian Center for New Drug Safety Evaluation, Fujian Medical University, No. 1 Xuefu North Road, New District, Fuzhou 350013, Fujian Province, China. yyu@fjmu.edu.cn
Received: November 25, 2024 Revised: February 26, 2025 Accepted: March 17, 2025 Published online: June 5, 2025 Processing time: 193 Days and 1.8 Hours
Abstract
This editorial highlights the randomized controlled trial by Qian et al evaluating the efficacy of nalbuphine in managing postoperative pain and associated inflammatory factors in patients undergoing radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Utilizing a multimodal analgesic approach with a controlled analgesia pump and a transverse abdominis muscle plane block, the study compared nalbuphine against sufentanil. Results indicate that nalbuphine significantly reduces pain scores at various postoperative intervals, decreases consumption and patient-controlled analgesia presses, and lowers levels of pain markers such as prostaglandin E2, serotonin, and substance P. While both agents demonstrated effective pain control, nalbuphine was associated with a lower incidence of adverse effects, suggesting its potential as a valuable alternative in appropriate clinical scenarios. This study offers valuable insights into nalbuphine’s clinical applicability, underscoring its benefits for pain management and enhancing patient recovery in the postoperative setting.
Core Tip: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols emphasize optimal pain management while minimizing opioid-related complications. This editorial highlights the comparative efficacy and safety profile of nalbuphine vs sufentanil in postoperative pain management following radical gastrectomy. The study demonstrates nalbuphine's advantages in terms of pain control, reduced inflammatory response, and fewer adverse events. Particularly noteworthy is its potential role in multimodal analgesia within ERAS protocols, offering a promising alternative for optimizing postoperative recovery while minimizing opioid-related complications.
