• Su Hyun Lee, Namo Kim, Chang Yeong Lee, Min Gi Ban, and Young Jun Oh.
• From the Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine (SHL, NK, MGB, YJO), Anaesthesia and Pain Research Institute (SHL, NK, YJO), Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (CYL), Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2016 Apr 1; 33 (4): 275-82.

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a risk factor that increases the incidence of postoperative cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality after lung resection. Dexmedetomidine, a selective α2-adrenoreceptor agonist, has been reported previously to attenuate intrapulmonary shunt during one-lung ventilation (OLV) and to alleviate bronchoconstriction.ObjectiveThe objective is to determine whether dexmedetomidine improves oxygenation and lung mechanics in patients with moderate COPD during lung cancer surgery.DesignA randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study.SettingSingle university hospital.ParticipantsFifty patients scheduled for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery who had moderate COPD. Patients were randomly allocated to a control group or a Dex group (n = 25 each).InterventionsIn the Dex group, dexmedetomidine was given as an initial loading dose of 1.0  μg  kg(-1) over 10  min followed by a maintenance dose of 0.5  μg  kg(-1)  h(-1) during OLV while the control group was administered a comparable volume of 0.9% saline. Data were measured at 30  min (DEX-30) and 60  min (DEX-60) after dexmedetomidine or saline administration during OLV.Main Outcome MeasuresThe primary outcome was the effect of dexmedetomidine on oxygenation. The secondary outcome was the effect of dexmedetomidine administration on postoperative pulmonary complications.ResultsPatients in the Dex group had a significantly higher PaO2/FIO2 ratio (27.9 ± 5.8 vs. 22.5 ± 8.4 and 28.6 ± 5.9 vs. 21.0 ± 9.9 kPa, P < 0.05), significantly lower dead space ventilation (19.2 ± 8.5 vs. 24.1 ± 8.1 and 19.6 ± 6.7 vs. 25.3 ± 7.8%, P < 0.05) and higher dynamic compliance at DEX-30 and DEX-60 (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.0184) compared with the control group. In the Dex group, the PaO2/FIO2 ratio in the postoperative period was significantly higher (P = 0.022) and the incidence of ICU admission was lower than in the control group.ConclusionDexmedetomidine administration may provide clinically relevant benefits by improving oxygenation and lung mechanics in patients with moderate COPD undergoing lung cancer surgery.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT 02185430.

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