Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Pre‐operative dexmedetomidine nasal spray and emergence agitation in adults undergoing ear, nose and throat surgery: a randomised controlled trial
Primary result · Emergence agitationResult — go to the resultRelative risk 0.53 95% CI 0.34–0.82Authors' conclusion
Pre-operative dexmedetomidine nasal spray reduced emergence agitation in adult patients undergoing ear, nose and throat surgery
Study context
- Population
- Adults scheduled for ear, nose and throat surgery under sevoflurane anaesthesia (BIS 40–60)
- Participants
- 159 adults
- Comparison
- Pre-operative dexmedetomidine nasal spray vs 0.9% saline
- Dexmedetomidinen = 80
- 0.9% salinen = 79reference
- Primary endpoint
- Incidence of emergence agitation (Riker sedation agitation scale score ≥ 5)
- Follow-up
- From sevoflurane discontinuation to 5 min post-tracheal extubation
Methodological detailsdouble-blind
- Double-blind
Primary result
Emergence agitation
Relative risk
0.53
95% CI 0.34–0.82
P = 0.004
Events by treatment group
Dexmedetomidine vs 0.9% saline
RR 0.53 (95% CI 0.34–0.82); P = 0.004
As reported in the abstract
Further findings
- Dexmedetomidine associated with less venepuncture pain, reduced rate of sleep disturbance on the first night after surgery and higher patient satisfaction
Original publication
Pre‐operative dexmedetomidine nasal spray and emergence agitation in adults undergoing ear, nose and throat surgery: a randomised controlled trial. Anaesthesia. Published 8 August 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →