Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that dexmedetomidine improves the quality of postoperative\nanalgesia. In the present study, we performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to quantify the\neffect of dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to sufentanil for postoperative patient-controlled analgesia (PCA).\nMethods: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were systematically searched for\nrandomized controlled trials in which dexmedetomidine was used as an adjuvant for PCA with sufentanil. In\nthe retrieved studies, we quantitatively analyzed pain intensity, sufentanil consumption, and drug-related side effects.\nResults: Nine studies with 907 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with sufentanil alone,\ndexmedetomidine-sufentanil for postoperative intravenous PCA reduced pain intensity at 24 h (mean difference (MD)\n= - 0.70points; 95% confidence interval (CI): - 1.01, - 0.39; P < 0.00001) and 48 h postoperatively (MD = -0.61points; 95%\nCI: - 1.00, - 0.22; P = 0.002). Moreover, dexmedetomidine-sufentanil reduced sufentanil consumption during the first\n24 h (MD = -13.77 micro g; 95% CI: - 18.56, - 8.97; P < 0.00001) and 48 h postoperatively (MD = -20.81 micro g; 95% CI: - 28.20, -13.42; P < 0.00001). Finally, dexmedetomidine-sufentanil improved patient satisfaction without increasing the incidence\nof side effects.\nConclusions: Dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to sufentanil for postoperative PCA can reduce postoperative pain\nscore and sufentanil consumption.
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