Low dose Dexmedetomidine versus Fentanyl for Attenuation of Emergence Delirium after General Anaesthesia in Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study, Low dose Dexmedetomidine versus Fentanyl for attenuation of Emergence Delirium after general anaesthesia in adults: a randomised controlled trial will be undertaken in the Department of Anaesthesiology, RIMS, Imphal, from August 2025 to July 2027.  After obtaining institutional ethics committee approval and written informed consents from the patients, 94 patients will be randomized into two groups. Group A patients will be started on Inj. Fentanyl 1mcg per kg IV bolus plus Inj. Dexmedetomidine 0.2 mcg per kg per hr IV infusion. Group B patients will receive a Fentanyl 1 mcg per kg IV bolus plus a Fentanyl 1 mcg per kg per hr infusion following induction of anaesthesia with propofol and maintenance with 50 percent Nitrous oxide in oxygen with Sevoflurane 0.6 to 1.5 percent to titrate the BIS value to 40 – 60 and ETCO2 30-35 mmHg. Infusion drugs will be stopped 15-20 minutes before the end of skin closure and inhalational agents will be cut-off 5-10 minutes before end of skin closure. Reversal of residual neuromuscular blockade will be done when the end tidal anaesthetic agent concentration is less than MAC-Awake. Data will be collected and tabulated in excel format for analysis using SPSS. Data will be analysed using appropriate statistics and a p-value of less than 0.05 will be considered significant