Dexmedetomidine for Sedation in Total Knee Replacements
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2015-11-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Dexmedetomidine has demonstrated benefits both in sedation, and post-operative pain control,
with less respiratory depression than other common sedatives. Traditionally, dexmedetomidine
has been used with a large loading dose and infusion, which has been known to cause
dose-dependent negative side-effects (Abdallah et al., 2013). Single dose dexmedetomidine
produces less negative side-effects, but still effective sedation and reduced post-operative
pain (Jung et al., 2013). There is evidence for its benefits with general anesthesia but only
a few studies exist investigating its benefits when administered for sedation purposes with
spinal anesthesia, and no studies primarily examine post-operative opioid consumption. The
investigators hypothesize that single dose dexmedetomidine for procedural sedation will
reduce opioid consumption after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).