Does dexmedetomidine attenuate the pressor response of endotrachial intubation

ABSTRACT

Laryngoscopy and endotrachial intubation leads to some cardiovascular responses including tachycardia hypertension and arrhythmias. The aim of this work was to compare the efficacy of dexmedetomidine in attenuating the pressor response of intubation to that of the intravenous injection of xylocaine. The study included 20 patients within an age group from 20 to 40 years ASA one undergoing abdominal surgery under general anesthesia. The patients were divided into 2 groups; in the first group dexmedetomidine was used to attenuate the pressor response of intubation, while in the second group the xylocaine was used for this purpose. In the first group dexmedetomidine was infused over 10 minutes in a dose of one microgram per kilogram body weight started five minutes before induction of anesthesia. In the second group xylocaine was given slowly intravenously in a dose of 1.5 milligram per kilogram body weight 3 minutes before endotrachial intubation. Heart rate, systolic, diastolic arterial blood pressure and S-T segment change all were recorded before the study, just before endotrachial intubation and every 2 minutes after endotrachial intubation for 4 readings. The incidence of arrhythmias and its type were recorded in every patient. It was found that dexmeditomidine resulted into a significant decrease in the heart rate and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure as compared to the use of xylocaine. On the other hand after intubation dexmedetomidine was more effective in suppressing the pressor response of intubation than xylocaine