Preventive effects of low-dose dexmedetomidine on postoperative cognitive function and recovery quality in elderly oral cancer patients.

This study analyzed the preventive effects of low-dose dexmedetomidine on postoperative cognitive function and recovery quality in elderly oral cancer patients by observing the perioperative kinetics of inflammatory cytokines, cortisol and melatonin.A total of 149 elderly oral cancer patients who had undergone tumor resection surgery were selected and randomly divided into 2 groups, Group D and Group S. After surgery, Group D was assigned to take intravenous dexmedetomidine at a dose of 0.2 μg/kg/h for 12 h, while Group S was administered physiological saline in the same manner. On the day of surgery and for the first three postoperative days, the patients were assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a 40-item quality of recovery score questionnaire (QoR40) at 7:00 am every morning. Venous blood was harvested at the same time. Then, IL-6, CRP, cortisol and melatonin levels were measured. There were no significant between-group differences in the baseline characteristics. After surgery, the MMSE and QoR40 scores in Group D were better than those in Group S. No between-group differences were observed in the incidences of severe hypotension and bradycardia. Moreover, respiratory depression was not observed in the 2 groups. The peaks of IL-6, CRP and cortisol concentrations in Group D were lower than those in Group S. However, the melatonin levels did not differ between the 2 groups. In elderly patients, intravenous dexmedetomidine administered postoperatively for 12 h at a dose of 0.2 ug/kg/h could improve postoperative cognitive function and recovery quality by decreasing excessive inflammation and stress levels.