Intraoperative dexmedetomidine attenuates postoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome in patients who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a retrospective cohort study

Purpose Dexmedetomidine (DEX) has been reported to attenuate inflammation in rats. The present retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate whether intraoperative administration with DEX could reduce the incidence of postoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in patients following percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Patients and methods A total of 251 patients were included in the analysis. Among these patients, 175 received intravenous DEX infusion during the intraoperative period and 76 did not. The primary outcome measures were the incidences of postoperative SIRS and fever. Secondary outcomes included patient-controlled analgesia (tramadol) requirements, length of postoperative hospitalization stay, serum creatinine (Scr) and serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration, and adverse events (bradycardia, hypotension, renal artery thrombosis). Results Administration of DEX not only significantly attenuated the incidence of SIRS and fever (P=0.029, P=0.042, respectively), but also reduced analgesia requirements (P=0.028). The length of postoperative hospitalization stay, Scr and BUN concentration, and adverse events did not differ significantly between the two groups. Further univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that intraoperative DEX administration was a protective factor against SIRS after PCNL (OR 0.476 [95% CI: 0.257-0.835]; P=0.019). Conclusion Intraoperative administration of DEX might be associated with reductions in the incidences of SIRS and fever after PCNL.