Effects of Dexmedetomidine Premedication on Emergence Agitation After Strabismus Surgery in Children
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2014-08-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Sevoflurane is frequently used for pediatric anesthesia because it has low pungency and rapid
onset and offset of action.The reported incidence of emergence agitation (EA) following
sevoflurane anesthesia varies from 10-80%. Despite its spontaneous resolution, EA is still
considered as a potentially serious complication because of the risks of self-injury, and
because of the stress caused to both caregivers and families.
Dexmedetomidine, an Alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist with sedative, analgesic, and anxiolytic
actions, has been used in pediatric populations.Several prospective clinical trials in
children have shown that dexmedetomidine significantly reduces the incidence of EA prior to
recovery from sevoflurane anesthesia. However, the effect of dexmedetomidine premedication on
emergence agitation has not been fully evaluated. The purpose of the present study was to
verify the hypothesis that intranasal premedication with dexmedetomidine is effective in
reducing emergence agitation after sevoflurane anaesthesia.