Intraoperative Dexmedetomidine Promotes Postoperative Analgesia in Patients after Spinal Surgery

Abstract

Surgery-induced acute postoperative pain may lead to prolonged convalescence. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of intraoperative administration of dexmedetomidine (DEX) on postoperative patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) following spinal surgery. Seventy-two patients scheduled for spinal surgery under general anesthesia were randomly assigned into two groups, which were maintained with propofol/remifentanil/dexmedetomidine (PRD) or propofol/remifentanil/saline (PRS) for genral anesthesia. Patients in PRD group had a lower Bispectral index (BIS) value during surgry, which indicated a deeper anesthetic state, and a higher sedation score right after extubation than patients in PRS group. During the first 24 hours post surgery, PRD patients consumed less PCA morphine, and had a lower score in visual analogue scale (VAS) than those from PRS group. Collectively, intraoperative administration of dexmedetomidine appears to promote the analgesic property of morphine-based PCA in patients after spinal surgery.