Effects of dexmedetomidine on dreaming during general anesthesia in pediatric patients

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the effects of dexmedetomidine on dreaming during general anesthesia in pediatric patients. Methods A total of 400 pediatric patients of both sexes, aged 5-12 yr, with body mass index of 15.2-18.1 kg/m2, of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅰ, undergoing elective orthopedic surgery under general anesthesia, were randomly divided into control group (group C, n=200) and dexmedetomidine group (group D, n=200) according to the computer-generated random numeral order and numeral parity.Dexmedetomidine was infused intravenously in a loading dose of 0.5 μg/kg over 10 min before induction of anesthesia followed by infusion of 0.5 μg·kg-1·h-1 until 30 min before the end of surgery in group D, while the equal volume of normal saline was given instead of dexmedetomidine in group C. The pediatric patients who regained consciousness and recovered orientation in post-anesthesia care unit were interviewed for dreaming using a modified Brice questionnaire, and the dream(emotion, hearing and behaviours in dreams, memories for dreams) was evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale. Results Compared with group C, the incidence of dreaming was significantly decreased, the memory score was decreased (P 0.05). Conclusion Dexmedetomidine can decrease the development of dreaming during general anesthesia and produces no effect on the content of dreams (most are pleasant) in pediatric patients. Key words: Dexmedetomidine; Child; Dream; Anesthesia, general