Intravenous Dexmedetomidine on Quality of Spinal Block and Duration of Postoperative Analgesia - A Systemic Review and Update - Abstract
Intravenous dexmedetomidine is been increasingly used in perioperative setting including as an adjunct to local anaesthetic in various regional techniques with an intent to either improve the block quality, increase the duration of block or to provide sedation and patient comfort during the periblock period. Intravenous dexmedetomidine when used just before or after spinal anaesthesia has many desirable effects such as
adequate sedation and patient comfort, longer sensory-motor blockade, prolonged postoperative analgesia and reduced post-anaesthesia shivering. The optimal dose or method of administration of intravenous dexmedetomidine under spinal anaesthesia has not been defined yet. Current literatures suggest a ceiling effect on prolonging post-spinal analgesia after 0.5mcg/kg boluses. With increasing the dose beyond
0.5 mcg/kg resulted in unwanted side effects notably bradycardia and excessive sedation. Further study with diverse population is needed to define the optimal dose of intravenous dexmedetomidine.