Effect of intraoperative use of dexmedetomidine on post-operative analgesia in patients undergoing elective spine surgery under general anaesthesia

Abstract

Background: Dexmedetomidine is an alpha2 agonist which shows sedative, analgesic and anti-adrenergic effects and is useful as an adjuvant agent in general anaesthesia (GA) in major surgeries. Aims and Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the analgesic efficacy of intra-operative infusion of dexmedetomidine in alleviating post-operative pain in elective spine surgery using multiple efficacy parameters. Materials and Methods: Patients (n=60) scheduled to undergo elective spine surgery under GA were randomised to receive either dexmedetomidine (treatment arm) or normal saline (control arm) in the intra-operative period. The analgesic efficacy of the drug in the post-operative period was assessed using- the time to first rescue analgesic, total requirement of analgesic, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score and the number of back-up analgesic required. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the baseline clinical and demographic characteristics between the two groups. The time to first rescue analgesic, total requirement of analgesic, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score and the number of back-up analgesic required, were all statistically significant in favour of the treatment arm (P<0.001). Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine provides effective postoperative analgesia and reduces tramadol requirements in elective spine surgery performed under general anaesthesia.