Does pre-emptive administration of clonidine or dexmedetomidine improve survival in experimental sepsis?
Central sympatholytics like clonidine or dexmedetomidine may improve survival in sepsis by down-regulating pro-inflammatory mediators.
Our results demonstrate that the pre-emptive administration of either clonidine or dexmedetomidine have the ability to successfully improve survival in experimental sepsis. Furthermore, there seems to be a connection between the central muscarinic network and the vagal cholinergic response. By down-regulating pro-inflammatory mediators sympatholytics may be a useful adjunct sedative in patients with a high risk for developing sepsis.
Hofer et al. (Fri,) studied this question.