Comparison of dexmedetomidine and clonidine for the prevention of emergence delirium in children undergoing lower abdominal surgery under sevoflurane anesthesia

Abstract

Abstract Objective: In this study, we compared the efficacy of dexmedetomidine, clonidine, and placebo in the prevention of emergence delirium (ED) in children undergoing lower abdominal surgeries under sevoflurane anesthesia. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective randomized double-blinded study on 75 patients aged 4–10 years belonging to the American Society of Anesthesiologists I or II, undergoing lower abdominal surgeries of 1–2 h duration under sevoflurane anesthesia. The children were randomly distributed into three groups: dexmedetomidine (Group D), clonidine (Group C), and saline group (Group S). The study drug was administered 10 min after induction of anesthesia. Intraoperative hemodynamic parameters were recorded. The Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium (PAED) score was used to assess the incidence and severity of ED at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, and 60 min of arrival to the postanesthesia care unit. A score of ≥10 was considered to have ED. The Ramsay Sedation Score and the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC) score were used to assess the degree of sedation and the severity of pain, respectively. Results: Dexmedetomidine showed the lowest incidence of ED while the highest incidence was seen in the saline group. The PAED score was lowest in the dexmedetomidine group, followed by clonidine, and highest in the control group at all time intervals. The Ramsay Sedation Score and FLACC score were also lower in the dexmedetomidine group as compared to the clonidine and saline groups. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine was found to be more efficacious in preventing ED as compared to clonidine in children.