Research progress on dexmedetomidine for the prevention of delirium in intensive care unit / 中华危重病急救医学

ABSTRACT

In the clinical practice,critically ill patients are in great risk of delirium because of the impact of psychological,surroundings,illness,and medications,with the incidence rate as high as 45％-87％.Delirium could result in bad prognosis and clinical consequences of cognitive function in late stage.Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is a novel and highly selective 2-adrenoceptor agonist.It offers beneficial pharmacological properties and has been widely used in intensive care unit (ICU).In order to provide scientific and effective references for clinical practice,this paper reviewed the development of DEX intervention for the prevention of delirium in ICU both in China and abroad refereed to the pharmacological characteristics and the efficiency in clinic and the influence factors ofthe efficiency;and also discussed the possible mechanisms,such as modulating the neurotransmitters,and attenuating stress response and inflammation.