The effects of low-high doses of dexmedetomidine on erythrocyte deformability in rats

Abstract

Dexmedetomidine is an anesthetic agent frequently used for sedation, intensive care units, and general anesthesia. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effect of two different doses of dexmedetomidine on erythrocyte deformability in rats. The study was performed on 21 male rats, with 7 rats in each study group and the control group. The rats in the study groups were administered dexmedetomidine (low dose 5 µg.kg-, high dose 10 µg.kg-) intraperitoneally, and the rats in the control group were administered physiological saline. Erythrocyte packs were prepared using heparinized total blood samples. Deformability measurements were done by erythrocyte suspensions in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) buffer. A constant flow filtrometer system was used to measure erythrocyte deformability, and the relative resistance was calculated. Use of a high dose dexmedetomidine resulted in an increase in relative resistance, which is an indicator for erythrocyte deformability in control rats (p=0.014). High dose dexmedetomidine via negative change in erythrocyte deformability may cause a functional deterioration in blood flow and tissue perfusion. Our results showed that low dose dexmedetomidine protects erythrocyte deformability better than the high dose (Fig. 1, Ref. 23).