Dexmedetomidine in Neurocritical Care

Early and appropriate management of brain insults has significantly reduced patient morbidity and mortality. Neuromonitoring, neuroprotection, and secondary brain injury prevention are the essential principles of brain injury management.In this literature review, we have elaborated on the neuroprotective role of dexmedetomidine (DEX), predominantly in different animal models of brain insults and reports in patients cared for in a neurocritical care setting. We undertook an electronic literature search of articles published in English before July ۲۰۱۹. This search resulted in the inclusion of ۵۹ studies from medical databanks such as PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, CINAHL, ISC, and the Cochrane Library. The keywords used were brain, α۲ agonist, neurocritical care, and dexmedetomidine.DEX may have a neuroprotective effect in a broad spectrum of brain pathologies such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and cerebral hypoxia. However, its neuroprotective role in status epilepticus (SE) is less clear. Further animal and human studies are needed before we could consider DEX as a neuroprotective agent in this patient population. Due to its favorable properties outlined in this review, DEX could be considered a favorable sedative agent in neurocritical care settings.

کلیدواژه ها:

dexmedetomidine ، Neurocritical care ، Neuroprotection