Intraoperative Dexmedetomidine Promotes Postoperative Analgesia in Patients After Abdominal Colectomy

Surgery-induced acute postoperative pain may lead to prolonged convalescence. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of intraoperative dexmedetomidine on postoperative analgesia following abdominal colectomy surgeries. Eighty patients scheduled for abdominal colectomy surgery under general anesthesia were divided into 2 groups, which were maintained using propofol/remifentanil/dexmedetomidine (PRD) or propofol/remifentanil/saline (PRS). During surgery, patients in the PRD group had a lower bispectral index (BIS) value, which indicated a deeper anesthetic state, and a higher sedation score right after extubation than patients in the PRS group. During the first 24 hours post surgery, PRD patients consumed less morphine in patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and had a lower score in the visual analog scale (VAS) testing than their controls from the PRS group. Intraoperative administration of dexmedetomidine appears to promote the analgesic property of morphine-based PCA in patients after abdominal colectomy.