Dexmedetomidine Versus Fentanyl Infusion as Adjuvants to General Anesthesia Using Sevoflurane in Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery

Background: Opioids have been used in the intraoperative and postoperative management in bariatric surgery patients. However, with the increasing use of Dexmedetomidine alpha-2 stimulant, we designed this study to compare the intraoperative and early postoperative effects of both methods, regarding hemodynamic, respiratory, sedative effects and rate of morbidity.Methods: Eighty bariatric patients were randomly recruited into the study after obtaining local ethical committee approval and written informed consent. Patients were randomly allocated to either Group F: (40 patients) received fentanyl infusion as Intra-operative analgesia and Group D: (40 patients) received Dexmedetomidine infusion. Both groups were compared as regarding intra-operative hemodynamics, time from cessation of anesthesia to recovery, immediate post-operative pain score.Results: The study included 80 bariatric patients underwent laparoscopic weight reduction surgeries. Dexmedetomidine group showed better intra-operative hemodynamic parameters, shorter recovery time, lower immediate post-operative pain scores and less respiratory depression than fentanyl group (p-value 0.001).Conclusion: In comparison to fentanyl, Dexmedetomidine provided significantly lower pain scores, lower respiratory depression and shorter recovery time than fentanyl.