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.