COMPARISON BETWEEN DEXMEDETOMIDINE AND A COMBINATION OF MIDAZOLAM AND FENTANYL FOR SEDATION DURING AWAKE FIBEROPTIC INTUBATION - A PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED PARALLEL GROUP DOUBLE-BLINDED STUDY

BACKGROUND Peter Murphy, in England, in 1965 used a fiberoptic choledocosope to intubate nasally a patient with Still's disease. Fiberoptic nasotracheal intubation is one of the techniques available for the management of patients with difficult airways. This study compares the effectiveness and safety of dexmedetomidine with a combination of fentanyl and midazolam for procedural sedation during awake fiberoptic intubation. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a single centre, prospective, randomised, parallel group, double-blinded study. To compare the effectiveness and safety of dexmedetomidine with a combination of fentanyl and midazolam for procedural sedation during awake fib eroptic intubation. Data was analysed using Sigma Stat 3.5 version. RESULTS This study shows that dexmedetomidine is a safe and highly efficacious drug in providing sedation, amnesia, anxiolysis, analgesia, better haemodynamics without producing respiratory depression for awake fib eroptic intubation. CONCLUSION We conclude that ease of intubation, cough suppression, comfort score and sedation scale were better with Dexmedetomidine.