Dexmedetomidine Added to Sufentanil Patient-Controlled Intravenous Analgesia Relieves the Postoperative Pain after Cesarean Delivery: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Multicenter Study

This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine in intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) after cesarean delivery. This multicenter study enrolled 208 subjects who were scheduled for selective cesarean delivery from 9 research centers. Patients received 0.5 ug/kg dexmedetomidine (study group) or normal saline (control group) after delivery and an intravenous PCA pump after surgery (100 μg sufentanil +300 μg dexmedetomidine for the study group, 100 μg sufentanil for the control group, background infusion: 1 ml/h, bolus dose: 2 ml and lock time: 8 min). The sufentanil consumption, pain scores, rescue analgesia, sedation scores, analgesic satisfaction, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and the first passage of flatus were recorded within 24 h after surgery. The sufentanil consumption in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group (p = 0.004). Compared with the control group, the study group had lower pain scores (p < 0.01), higher analgesic satisfaction degree [p < 0.001, odd ratio 4.28 and 95% CI (2.46, 7.46)], less requirement of rescue analgesia (p = 0.003), lower incidence of PONV (p = 0.005 and p < 0.001, respectively), and shorter time to first passage of flatus (p = 0.007). Dexmedetomidine added to sufentanil intravenous PCA significantly enhanced the analgesic effects, improved analgesic satisfaction, and had the potential benefits of reducing PONV and the recovery of intestinal functions after cesarean section.