Purpose: Dexmedetomidine (DEX) loading can cause blood pressure (BP) elevation, but decrease BP too. Anesthetic performance will improve if we better understand the effects beforehand. We performed factor analysis to determine BP changes in different patients affected by DEX loading.
Methods: DEX was administered to patients for sedation in the intensive care unit (ICU), emergency room (ER), operating room (OR), or as an adjunct to anesthesia in the OR. The DEX loading dosage was 1 µg/kg for 10 min. Factor analysis was performed to investigate what factors influence the effect of DEX on systolic BP (SBP).
Results: Forty-five patients received DEX for sedation (21 in OR, 10 in ER, and 14 in ICU) and 17 patients received DEX for adjuvant anesthetics. SBP in 25, 14, and 23 patients was elevated, unchanged, and decreased, respectively. Observed factors which had a correlation with SBP change were elective administration, general condition, stress/pain, pre-SBP, and combined anesthetic use.
Conclusion: BP change with DEX loading can be predicted to some extent. SBP in stressed patients tended to decrease and in anesthetized patients tended to increase.
