Clinical study of dexmedetomidine on postoperative delirium in elderly patients following hip surgery

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of dexmedetomidine on postoperative delirium in elderly patients following hip surgery. Methods Fifty patients over 65 years following hip surgery were admitted from January 2016 to to January 2018, they were randomly divided into two groups: dexmedetomidine group (n=25) which was given dexmedetomidine for postoperative analgesia with a does of 0.5 μg/kg/hr followed by orthopedic routine treatment and control group (n=25) which was only given with routine treatment. The incidence, onset time and duration of delirium were compared between two groups. Results All patients were well followed up with a mean duration of (10.0±1.4) days (range, 7-15 days). There was no statistical difference between dexmedetomidine group (6%) and control group (13%) on the incidence of delirium (P>0.05). There was significant difference between dexmedetomidine group [(26±6) h] and control group [(7±3) h] on the onset time of delirium (t=2.370, P<0.05). There was significant difference between dexmedetomidine group [(2.4±0.8) d] and control group [(6.2±1.5) d] on the duration of delirium (t=-1.942, P<0.05). Conclusion Dexmedetomidine could delay the onset time and shorten the duration of delirium, but could not lower the incidence of delirium. Key words: Dexmedetomidine; Postoperative delirium; Aged; Hip