Dexmedetomidine infusion in the management of acute ischemic stroke undergoing endovascular recanalization: a retrospective observational study

Abstract

Abstract Background and purpose Stroke is defined as a sudden onset of a neurological deficit caused by an acute focal injury to the central nervous system due to a vascular cause. It represents the second leading cause of death, the third leading cause of disability worldwide and the primary cause of disability in the elderly. Ischemic strokes are the most common (≈85%), the rest (≈15%) are hemorrhagic strokes, that include cerebral and subarachnoid. One of the commonly procedure used in patients with large-vessel occlusion is intra-arterial (IA) recanalization. Moderate conscious sedation (CS) and general anesthesia (GA) with intubation are the most used anesthesia techniques for patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing endovascular recanalization. Methods In this retrospective observational study, we analyzed data of registry before and after we have changed our sedation protocol from remifentanil/propofol (P/R group) infusion in total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) to intravenous infusion of dexmedetomidine alone (D group). The primary endpoint was to determine the rate of conversion from CS to GA for each group. The secondary outcomes were the incidence of complications (bradycardia, hypotension, tachycardia, hypertension). Results and conclusion 12 patients in P/R group need the conversion from CS to GA while only 5 patients in D group. There weren't significant differences between the 2 groups respect to heart rate (HR), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) during the procedure, for the good neurological outcome (mRS score < 3, p > .05) and NIHSS score after 48 h (p > .05). There were several organizational and economic advantages with the conscious sedation procedure, such as reduction of occupation time in the operating room and reduction of postoperative Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay.