Emergence agitation (EA) is an aberrant mental condition arises during the transformation from
unconsciousness to full awareness and can persist for up to two days in the early postoperative period.
This study compared 2μg/kg versus 3μg/kg intranasal dexmedetomidine (DEX) in reducing
EA in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy.
This randomized parallel double-blinded research involved 40 pediatric patients aged 2-10 years
old of both sexes were classified by American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status of I, &
II undergoing adenotonsillectomy with sevoflurane anesthesia. They were allocated into two groups,
GI: received intranasal DEX (2μg/kg), and GII: received intranasal DEX (3μg/kg). General anesthesia
was done by face mask with sevoflurane 6-8% inhalation and maintenance at 2-4%.
The results showed that GII had a significantly better Ramsay sedation score, parental separation
anxiety scale, Watcha scale emergence delirium, and face mask acceptance scores compared to
GI (P<0.05). GII had a significantly lower flacc score compared to GI (P =0.017), but without significant
difference between both as to parents' satisfaction scores