Effectiveness of Intravenous Dexmedetomidine vs. Fentanyl for Attenuation of Haemodynamic Response to Pneumoperitoneum in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Randomised Double Blind Study

Introduction: Laparoscopy is a widely performed minimal invasive surgical procedure, wherein various haemodynamic changes are faced by anaesthesiologists during Pneumoperitoneum (PNP). Aim: To compare the effectiveness of dexmedetomidine vs fentanyl for attenuating the haemodynamics response to PNP in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (LC). Materials and Methods: A total of 84 patients of 18-50 years age, American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) Class I/II of either sex for elective LC were included. The patients were divided into two groups (A, B) of 42 patients each. Group A received dexmedetomidine and Group B received fentanyl. Both the drugs were given as loading dose of one μg/kg over ten min followed by maintenance 0.2 μg/kg/h throughout the surgery. Haemodynamic parameters were recorded at different time intervals throughout the surgery. In recovery room patients were observed for postoperative analgesia by using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), sedation level using RAMSAY Sedation score at every 30 minutes till the time of giving first rescue analgesia and side effects, if any. Results: Intraoperatively, throughout the period of PNP, Group A showed statistically better attenuation of haemodynamic responses in comparison to Group B (p<0.05). After creating PNP, rise in Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) was observed in both group A and group B, 99.38±6.32 and 103.43±9.81, respectively but this rise was more in group B which was statistically significant (p<0.05) throughout the surgery except 40 minutes after PNP creation. Time to first rescue analgesia or mean duration of postoperative analgesia (VAS>3) was significantly longer in dexmedetomidine group (102.14±32.50 minutes) than fentanyl group (42.86±15.03 minutes). There was better control of pain but more sedation in Group A than in Group B. Conclusion: This study concludes that intravenously administered dexmedetomidine shows better attenuation of haemodynamic responses to CO2 insufflation as compared to fentanyl. Dexmedetomidine also provides better sedation and has more analgesic sparing effect.