Effect of ancillary drugs on sevoflurane related emergence agitation in children undergoing ophthalmic surgery: a Bayesian network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The comparative efficacy of ancillary drugs on sevoflurane related emergence agitation (EA) in children undergoing ophthalmic surgery remains controversial. METHODS: The databases were retrieved in an orderly manner from the dates of their establishment to October, 2018, including PubMed, The Cochrane Library and Web of Science, to collect randomized controlled trials (RCT) of different anesthetic drugs combined with sevoflurane for ophthalmic surgery. Then a network meta-analysis was conducted using R and Stata 12.0 softwares. RESULTS: The meta-analysis showed that, in reducing sevoflurane related EA, dexmedetomidine, ketamine, propofol, fentanyl, midazolam, sufentanil, remifentanil and clonidine were superior to placebo (P < 0.05). The network meta-analysis showed that the effects of ancillary drugs combine with sevoflurane in reducing risk of EA in children undergoing ophthalmic surgery was superior to placebo: dexmedetomidine (OR = 0.17, 95% CrI 0.12–0.22), ketamine (OR = 0.30, 95% CrI 0.11–0.49), propofol (OR = 0.24, 95% CrI 0.09–0.63), fentanyl (OR = 0.16, 95% CrI 0.08–0.56), midazolam (OR = 0.20, 95% CrI 0.09–0.40), sufentanil (OR = 0.27, 95% CrI 0.14–0.41), remifentanil (OR = 0.18, 95% CrI 0.08–0.54) and clonidine (OR = 0.14, 95% CrI 0.07–0.41). The SUCRA of placebo, dexmedetomidine, ketamine, propofol, fentanyl, midazolam, sufentanil, remifentanil, clonidine were respectively 0.26, 77.93, 27.71, 42.8, 69.43, 52.89, 59.83, 57.62 and 61.53%. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of dexmedetomidine combine with sevoflurane in reducing risk of emergence agitation in children undergoing ophthalmic surgery was superior to other drugs.