Performance evaluation of paediatric propofol pharmacokinetic models in healthy young children

Abstract

Background The performance of eight currently available paediatric propofol pharmacokinetic models in target-controlled infusions (TCIs) was assessed, in healthy children from 3 to 26 months of age. Methods Forty-one, ASA III children, aged 326 months were studied. After the induction of general anaesthesia with sevoflurane and remifentanil, a propofol bolus dose of 2.5 mg kg-1 followed by an infusion of 8 mg kg-1 h-1 was given. Arterial blood samples were collected at 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 60 min post-bolus, at the end of surgery, and at 1, 3, 5, 30, 60, and 120 min after stopping the infusion. Model performance was visually inspected with measured/predicted plots. Median performance error (MDPE) and the median absolute performance error (MDAPE) were calculated to measure bias and accuracy of each model. Results Performance of the eight models tested differed markedly during the different stages of propofol administration. Most models underestimated propofol concentration 1 min