Efficacy of dexmedetomidine in reducing post-operative pain and improving the quality of recovery in patients with burn wounds undergoing tangential excision skin grafting.

Burn-induced acute post-operative pain and the associated stress response may result in prolonged convalescence. The present study investigated the effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX) administration on post-operative pain and the quality of recovery following surgical treatment of moderate-to-severe burn injuries. A total of 60 adult patients undergoing tangential excision skin grafting were randomized into two groups. The DEX group (Group D) received an intravenous (i.v.) single-dose bolus injection of DEX 0.5 µg/kg >10 min prior to induction of anesthesia. Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) was provided to the patients from the end of the surgery, which consisted of 100 µg sufentanil plus 200 µg DEX. The control group (Group C) received an equal volume of normal saline as a pre-operative bolus and post-operative PCIA of 100 µg sufentanil infusion. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score at rest and during movement, the cumulative dose of sufentanil and the 40-item quality of recovery questionnaire (QoR-40) score were assessed at various time-points after the surgery. During the first 24 h post-surgery, patients in Group D exhibited a lower VAS score at rest and during movement, a lower number of PCIA pump presses (29.17±1.91 vs. 34.13±2.73) and lower sufentanil consumption (62.58±0.96 vs. 65.27±1.26) compared with those in Group C (P<0.05). Furthermore, the QoR-40 recovery score of patients in Group D at 24 h post-surgery was higher compared with that in Group C (P<0.01). In conclusion, the present study indicated that a pre-operative bolus of DEX (0.5 µg/kg) followed by DEX plus sufentanil by PCIA subsequent to surgery improved the quality of analgesia and promoted the quality of recovery at 24 h following tangential excision skin grafting treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe burn injuries compared to PCIA of 100 µg sufentanil only. The present study was retrospectively registered with the trial registration no. ChiCTR1800016646 (date of registration, 14/06/2018).