Dexmedetomidine infusion versus fentanyl for analgesia and prevention of emergence agitation and delirium in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy

Background This randomized controlled study aimed to evaluate whether an intraoperative infusion of dexmedetomidine would be a safe and effective substitute to fentanyl intraoperatively, and whether it would be effective in reducing the incidence and severity of emergence agitation and delirium in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy. Patients and methods This study was conducted on 70 pediatric patients, aged 3–7 years, of both sexes, of ASA I and II, who were scheduled for elective adenotonsillectomy. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups: group D (dexmedetomidine infusion group; 35 patients) received intravenous dexmedetomidine (2 μg/kg) over 10 min, followed by 0.7 μg/kg/h until 5 min before the end of the surgery, and group F (intravenous fentanyl group; 35 patients) received intravenous fentanyl 1 μg/kg as a bolus. No premedication was given to any of the patients. The number of patients in each group who needed intraoperative fentanyl, the fentanyl dose, time of administration of fentanyl, duration of surgery and anesthesia, and the time to awakening were recorded. Pain was evaluated using the objective pain scale score in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), which was managed with rescue intravenous pethidine. Emergence agitation was evaluated in the PACU using two scales: the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium scale and the five-point agitation scale described by Cole. Results The time to awakening in group D was significantly shorter compared with that in group F (P<0.05). Group D showed a statistically significantly lower maximum objective pain scale score, lower Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium score, and lower emergence agitation score compared with group F at arrival at the PACU. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups as regards preoperative heart rate, but there was significantly lower heart rate in group D than in group F after induction (P<0.05). No side effects were observed during the first 24 h postoperatively in the two groups. Conclusion Dexmedetomidine is a safe and effective analgesic substitute to fentanyl intraoperatively and reduces analgesic requirements postoperatively. It is also effective in reducing the incidence and severity of emergence agitation and delirium in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy.