Effect of Dexmedetomidine on Perioperative Haemodynamic Fluctuations in Untreated Stage 1 Hypertensive Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy - A Randomised Controlled Trial

Introduction: Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) has reclassified earlier prehypertension {Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) 130-139 mm of Hg and/or Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) 80-89 mmHg} as stage 1 HTN. These patients may be at greater risk of perioperative haemodynamic instability, more so in case of laparoscopic surgeries and alpha-2 agonists premedication may be useful in such patients. Aim: To assess perioperative haemodynamic fluctuations in untreated stage 1 hypertension (HTN) patients and the role of Dexmedetomidine (Dexmed) in it. Materials and Methods: This prospective, randomised, double blind study was conducted at Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, India from March 2019 to September 2020. Sixty-five patients with stage 1 HTN not on any anti-hypertensive drugs undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy were enrolled and randomly divided into group D (dexmedetomidine) and group NS (Normal Saline). Group D received Dexmed 1 µg/kg over 10 minutes before induction, followed by continuous infusion of Dexmed at 0.2 µg/ kg/h and Group NS received similar volume of normal saline. Serial recording of pulse rate, Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) and oxygen saturation was done. Postoperative sedation scores, extubation time and time to first rescue analgesia were also assessed. For analysis, quantitative variables were expressed as mean±SD and compared using unpaired and paired t-test. Mann-Whitney test was used for quantitative data that did not follow a normal distribution. Qualitative variables were expressed as frequencies/percentages and compared using Chi-square test. A p-value