In a prospective randomized clinical trial involving adult patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, the investigators will enroll 216 patients, and evaluate 3 doses of prophylactic dexmedetomidine as a means to reduce postoperative shivering and quality of emergence from anesthesia versus placebo.
Patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia may experience several complications during the postoperative period. Shivering has been reported to occur in up to 65% of patients recovering from general anesthesia, and has been shown to cause detrimental effects to the patient. Previous studies have shown that dexmedetomidine 1µg/kg at the end of surgery significantly reduces the incidence of postoperative shivering and improves quality of emergence from anesthesia. However, this beneficial effect of dexmedetomidine is at the expense of prolonged time to extubation and awakening. The aim of this study is to find the optimal dose of dexmedetomidine that would be beneficial without delaying recovery from general anesthesia.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
216
American University of Beirut Medical Center
Beirut, Lebanon
Postanaesthetic shivering incidence and score
Time frame: change from baseline every 10 minutes up to 1 hour post-operatively
Quality of emergence from anesthesia
The anesthesiologist blinded to the group allocation will assess patients for coughing, hypertension, tachycardia, limb movement during extubation
Time frame: Change from baseline every 5 minutes till extubation
Patient's Temperature
Time frame: every 10 minutes up to 1 hour post-operatively
Time to extubation, awakening and orientation
Time frame: 1 hour post-operatively
Sedation scores
Time frame: every 10 minutes up to 1 hour post-operatively
Pain scores
Time frame: every 10 minutes up to 1 hour post-operatively
Nausea and vomiting
Time frame: every 10 minutes up to 1 hour post-operatively
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Patients in Group IV will receive same volume of normal saline at closure of sevoflurane