• Tufail Ahmad Sheikh, Bashir Ahmad Dar, Nihida Akhter, and Nadeem Ahmad.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
• Anesth Essays Res. 2018 Apr 1; 12 (2): 555-560.

BackgroundThe use of intravenous sedation during cardiac surgery to reduce awareness has been practised routinely during past few years and the two most commonly used drugs include propofol and dexmedetomidine, but their effects on hemodynamics and postoperative outcomes in cardiac surgery is continually being evaluated.AimsThe aim of this study was to compare the effects of anesthesia by dexmedetomidine and propofol on the hemodynamic variables and postoperative outcomes in patients who were planned for elective cardiac surgery.SettingsCardiac operating room of a tertiary care hospital.DesignA prospective, randomized controlled, double-blind clinical trial.Materials And MethodsSixty patients were randomized to receive either a continuous infusion of propofol (0.25-1 mg/kg/h) or dexmedetomidine bolus of 1 μg/kg over 10 min followed by infusion (0.2-0.6 μg/kg/h) after induction of anesthesia. The anesthesia technique and physiological monitoring including bispectral index monitoring were similar among both the groups. Hemodynamic variables (mean heart rate [HR], mean arterial pressure [MAP]) were noted at predefined time intervals, intraoperative vasopressor or inotrope requirements and postoperative outcomes including postoperative ventilation time and length of stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were also recorded.Statistical AnalysisStatistics was done using SPSS V 20 (IBM, NY) using Student's t-test, analysis of variance, and Mann-Whitney U-test, and a P < 0.05 was considered to indicate a significant difference.Results And ConclusionsHR and MAP were significantly less in dexmedetomidine group compared to propofol group (P < 0.05). Both the groups had a similar requirement of vasopressors and inotropes. The duration of postoperative ventilation and length of stay in the ICU were significantly shorter in the dexmedetomidine group (P < 0.05). The risk of delirium was significantly less in dexmedetomidine group (P < 0.05). From our study we concluded, that the perioperative infusion of dexmedetomidine produces better hemodynamic stability, reduces the risk of postoperative delirium, and leads to shorter ICU stay.

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