Objective To investigate the effects of intraoperative intravenous administration of dexmedetomidine (DEX) on the recovery quality of donors undergoing pure laparoscopic donor hepatectomy.

Methods A total of 56 liver donors who were going to undergo scheduled pure laparoscopic donor hepatectomy were enrolled and randomly assigned to two groups, a DEX group (n=28) and a control group (n=28). Donors in the DEX group received DEX infusion at a dose of 1 μg/kg over 15 minutes through a continuous pump, which was followed by DEX at 0.4 μg/(kg·h) until the disconnection of the portal branch. Donors in the control group were given an equal volume of 0.9% normal saline at the same infusion rate and over the same period of time as those of the dex infusion in the DEX group. The primary outcome was the incidence of emergence agitation (EA). The Aono's Four-point Scale (AFPS) score was used to assess EA. The secondary observation indicators included intraoperative anesthesia and surgery conditions, spontaneous respiration recovery time, recovery time, extubation time, scores for the Ramsay Sedation Scale, the incidence of chills, numeric rating scale (NRS) score for pain, and blood pressure and heart rate after extubation.

Results The incidence of EA was 10.7% and 39.3% in the DEX group and the control group, respectively, and the incidence of EA was significantly lower in the DEX group than that in the control group (P=0.014). The APFS scores after extubation in the DEX group were lower than those in the control group (1 1, 1 vs. 2 1, 3, P=0.005). Compared to the control group, the dosages of intraoperative propofol and remifentanil were significantly reduced in the DEX group (P<0.05). During the recovery period, the number of donors requiring additional boluses of analgesia, the blood pressure, and the heart rate were all lower in the DEX group than those in the control group (P<0.05). No significant differences between the two groups were observed in the spontaneous respiration recovery time, recovery time, extubation time, the incidence of chills, NRS score, scores for the Ramsay Sedation Scale, and the length-of-stay in postanesthesia care unit (PACU) (P>0.05).

Conclusion DEX can reduce the incidence of EA after pure laparoscopic donor hepatectomy and improve the quality of recovery without prolonging postoperative recovery time or extubation time.