Abstract:Objective To observe the clinical value of dexmedetomidine in laparoscopic appendectomy for preventing agitation during anesthesia recovery period. Methods The clinical data of 60 patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy under general anesthesia were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into observation group with dexmedetomidine before anesthesia and control group without dexmedetomidine before anesthesia (n=30, each). The changes of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) at the end of operation (T1), at the time of tracheal catheter extraction (T2) and 5 minutes after tracheal extubation (T3) were compared between two groups. The recovery time, extubation time and incidence of restlessness were observed too. Results At T1, T2 and T3, MAP and HR in observation group were significantly lower than those in control group (all P<0.05). There were no significant differences in MAP and HR between T2, T3 and T1 in observation group (all P>0.05), but MAP and HR at T2 and T3 were significantly higher than those at T1 in control group (all P<0.05). The wake-up time was (10.4±2.1) min in observation group and (9.5±1.6) min in control group, and there was no significant difference between two groups (t=1.87, P=0.07). There was no significant difference in extubation time between two groups [(15.9±5.7) min vs (14.8±5.1) min, t=0.79, P=0.43]. The incidences of restlessness at 1 minute before extubation (T4) in observation group were statistically lower than those in control group (3.3% vs 23.3%, P<0.05). Conclusion The application of dexmedetomidine in laparoscopic appendectomy is safe and effective and can reduce the incidence of agitation in the patients.