Abstract

In obstetric patients undergoing a cesarean section, does a spinal block combining dexmedetomidine and local anesthetic compared with just local anesthetic result in a change in the incidence of side effects, density, onset, or duration of the block during the first 120 minutes from insertion of the medication?

The use of dexmedetomidine in spinal anesthesia has been well researched. Dexmedetomidine in the increments of 3,5, and 10 mcg has been shown to consistently reduce the onset time of the sensory and motor block of spinal anesthesia while also prolonging the duration of the sensory block significantly. Evidence shows that adding 5 mcg of dexmedetomidine can cause the duration of the sensory block to increase from 108 minutes to 148 minutes and the onset time of the sensory block to decrease from 3.4 minutes to 2.9 minutes. Dexmedetomidine has also been shown to reduce the amount of bupivacaine needed for an adequate sensory block by 24% when including 5 mcg of dexmedetomidine as an additive. The side effects of spinal anesthesia include shivering, pruritus, nausea, and hypotension. The addition of 5 mcg of dexmedetomidine has been shown to statistically reduce the incidence of shivering with no effect on the incidence of other side effects of a spinal block. Research concluded that there was no further benefit in increasing the dosage of dexmedetomidine from 5 mcg to 10 mcg, and 5 mcg was adequate to gain the benefits in onset time, efficacy, increased duration, and the reduction in the incidence of shivering. Dexmedetomidine also significantly increased the postoperative pain-free time from an average of 145 minutes to 230 minutes and decreased the amount of postoperative sufentanil needed from 65.9 mcg to 56.3 mcg.

Author Details

Garrett Franklin, BSN, SRNA

Sigma Membership

Non-member

Lead Author Affiliation

Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Case Study/Series

Research Approach

Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice

Keywords:

C-Sections, Spinal Anesthesia, Obstetric Patients

Advisor

Sanford, David

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Samford University

Degree Year

2023

Rights Holder

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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

Date of Issue

2023-02-17

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