European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Alpha two agonists such as clonidine and dexmedetomidine have been popular in anaesthesia practice as adjuvants to provide sedation, anxiolysis, analgesia and controlled hypotension. Dexmedetomidine is eight times more selective for alpha 2 receptors than clonidine. Aim: The present study was undertaken to compare effects of clonidine and dexmedetomidine on haemodynamic stability, anaesthetics requirement and recovery profile in spine surgeries under general anaesthesia. Material and Method: A total 100 patients of American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA )grade I and II, age between 18 to 60 years, who were schedule for thoracic and lumbar spine surgery under general anaesthesia were included in the study. They were randomized in two groups of 50 patients in each. Group A received injection clonidine 2ug/kg bolus IV over 10 min followed by normal saline infusion and group B received injection dexmedetomidine 1ug/kg bolus IV over 10 minutes followed by dexmedetomidine infusion of 0.5ug/kg/hr. Assessment of haemodynamic parameters, anaesthetic requirement and recovery profile was done. Results: With clonidine and dexmedetomidine the intraoperative haemodynamic parameters remained stable without any statistical difference. Both the drugs were equally effective in reducing anaesthetic agent’s requirement and in reducing blood loss while comparable with respect to recovery profile and adverse effects. Group B had lesser extubation time (9.72±4.1 minutes) than group A (11.44±4 minutes) which was statistically significant however it was not clinically significant ,whereas the time to achieve aldrete score of > 9 was comparable between two groups. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine and clonidine have similar effects on haemodynamic stability, anaesthetics requirement and recovery profile.