Efficacy and Safety of Oliceridine for Patient-Controlled Intravenous Analgesia in Elderly Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Radical Resection Surgery for Gastrointestinal Malignant Tumors: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Non-Inferiority Clinical Trial

Background: Opioid-related adverse events are common with sufentanil-based patient-controlled intravenous analgesia after laparoscopic gastrointestinal cancer surgery in older adults. Oliceridine, a G protein–biased μ-opioid receptor agonist, may provide effective analgesia with fewer adverse events. Methods: In this single-center, randomized, double-blind, non-inferiority trial (Tangdu Hospital, Xi’an, China), patients aged ≥ 60 years undergoing elective laparoscopic radical resection for gastrointestinal malignant tumors were allocated 1:1 to postoperative patient-controlled intravenous analgesia containing oliceridine (0.4 mg/kg) or sufentanil (2 μg/kg), combined with ketorolac and tropisetron, for 48 hours. The primary endpoint was the cumulative area under the curve for resting 0– 10 visual analogue scale pain scores over 0– 48 hours. The non-inferiority margin was prespecified as 20% of the mean AUC in the sufentanil group (18.3 points), a threshold based on prior studies and deemed clinically acceptable. Results: Of 90 randomized patients, 88 received the study drug and were included in the analyses (44 per group); two patients were excluded as they never received the intervention. In the per‑protocol analysis, the cumulative resting pain area under the curve was 73.02± 22.59 with sufentanil and 72.55± 23.54 with oliceridine (between-group difference 0.48; 95% CI − 9.30 to 10.26), meeting non-inferiority. A modified intention‑to‑treat analysis including all 88 treated patients yielded identical results, confirming robustness. Movement-evoked pain area under the curve was similar (difference 1.77; 95% CI − 8.72 to 12.27). Respiratory depression occurred in 1/44 (2.27%) with oliceridine versus 8/44 (18.18%) with sufentanil, and hypotension in 5/44 (11.36%) versus 13/44 (29.55%). Conclusion: In elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic gastrointestinal cancer surgery, oliceridine provided non-inferior analgesia to sufentanil while significantly lowering the incidence of respiratory depression and hypotension. These findings suggest that oliceridine may be a preferred opioid option for PCIA when respiratory and hemodynamic safety are critical concerns. Trial Registration: ChiCTR2400090780. Keywords: oliceridine, sufentanil, gastrointestinal tumor, laparoscopic radical operation, postoperative analgesia