Dexmededomidine in pediatric unilateral internal inguinal ring ligation

BACKGROUND: Safe and effective analgesia strategy remains one of the priorities for pediatric inguinal hernia treatment. AIM: To explore safety and efficacy of dexmededomidine monotherapy for postoperative analgesia in children who received laparoscopic unilateral internal inguinal ring ligation. METHODS: This randomized single-center controlled trial included 390 children (aged 1-3 years, ASA grade I-II), randomly divided into a dexmededomidine group (D group), a dexmededomidine + sufentanil group (DS group), and a sufentanil group (S group). The primary endpoint was percentage of children with the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) score ≤ 3 points 2 h after surgery. RESULTS: The comparisons of the FLACC scores at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 h were not significantly different among the three groups (P > 0.05). The sedative effects in the D group were significantly better than those in the S group (P > 0.05), but not significantly different from those in the DS group. The incidence of nausea and vomiting was significantly lower in the D group than in the S group and DS group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Analgesic effects of dexmededomidine monotherapy are comparable to those of sufentanil alone or in combination with dexmededomidine for children who underwent laparoscopic unilateral internal inguinal ring ligation, with better sedative effects and a lower incidence of adverse events.