Background: This study aimed to compare the preventive effect of two different doses of dexmedetomidine infusion compared to the control group on the incidence of cough and respiratory complications during tracheal tube removal.
Methods: 105 patients undergoing tracheal intubation were divided into three groups of 35 people, and in the three mentioned groups, at the end of the procedure, ten minutes before the tracheal tube was removed, the patients of group one received 0.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine bolus and then 0.3 μg/kg infusion, group two 0.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine bolus and then 0.5 μg/kg infusion and group three 10 minutes before leaving the endotracheal tube normal saline with equal volume of group one and two as bolus and then with equal volume of other two groups They received it as an infusion and the frequency and severity of cough and hemodynamic parameters were evaluated and compared in three groups.
Findings: 33 (31.4%) developed cough, of which 7 (20%) were from the dexmedetomidine 0.5 group, 9 people (25.7%) were from the dexmedetomidine 0.3 group, and 17 (48.6%) were from the control group. There was a significant difference in the cough frequency among the three groups (P = 0.024). In terms of severity, 10 (30.3%) patients had severe coughs, 2 (22.2%) were from the dexmedetomidine 0.3 group and 8 (47.1%) were from the control group. There was no case of severe cough in the dexmedetomidine 0.5 group. There was a significant difference in the cough severity among the three groups (P = 0.009).
Conclusion: An infusion dose of 0.5 μg/kg of dexmedetomidine followed by a bolus dose of 0.5 μg/kg of dexmedetomidine is associated with a decrease in the incidence and severity of cough after surgery and with more stable hemodynamics of patients.