Intravenous dexmedetomidine during spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section: A meta-analysis of randomized trials

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of spinal anaesthesia using dexmedetomidine for caesarean section. Methods PubMed, The Cochrane Library, and CNKI were searched for relevant literature. Results The incidence of nausea and vomiting in the dexmedetomidine group was significantly lower than that in the control group (OR=0.21, 95% CI: 0.12-0.35, P<0.00001). No difference was found in the incidence of pruritus between the two groups (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 0.36-4.09, P=0.76).The dexmedetomidine group had a higher incidence of bradycardia than did the control group (OR=2.20, 95% CI: 1.02-4.77, P=0.05). The incidence of shivering in the dexmedetomidine group was significantly lower than that in the control group (OR=0.20, 95% CI: 0.13-0.32, P<0.00001). The incidence of hypotension was not different between the two groups (OR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.49-1.56, P=0.65). Conclusion Dexmedetomidine can decrease the incidence of nausea, vomiting, bradycardia, and shivering with spinal anaesthesia during caesarean section.