Clinical effect of dexmedetomidine combined with sufentanil on postoperative analgesia for transthoracic device closure of ventricular septal defects in children with ultrafast track anesthesia.

BACKGROUND To observe the effect of combining dexmedetomidine with sufentanil on postoperative analgesia in children who underwent transthoracic device closure of ventricular septal defects (VSDs) with ultrafast track anesthesia. METHODS This was a retrospective study. Eighty-seven children who underwent transthoracic device closure of VSDs were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into three groups based on the different drugs used for postoperative patient-controlled analgesia. RESULTS No statistically significant differences in hemodynamic parameters were noted among the three groups after surgery (p > 0.05). The FLACC score in the SD2 group was significantly greater than those in the S groups and SD1 groups after surgery (p < 0.001). The Ramsay score in the S group was significantly lower than that of the SD1 and SD2 groups at 6 h (p < 0.001 and p = 0.003), 12 h (p = 0.002 and p = 0.012), and 24 h (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001) after surgery. The pressing frequency of the analgesic pump 48 h after the operation in the SD2 group was significantly greater than that in the other two groups (p < 0.05). The incidences of respiratory depression, nausea, and vomiting in the S group were significantly greater than those in the SD1 and SD2 groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION The combination of 0.04 μg/kg/h dexmedetomidine and 0.04 μg/kg/h sufentanil intravenous analgesia was more effective than the other two analgesic strategies in children who underwent transthoracic device closure of ventricular septal defects (VSDs) with ultrafast track anesthesia.