The Effect of Dexmedetomidine on the Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Atrial fibrillation (AF) may occur in patients after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). Dexmedetomidine is a selective agonist of the alpha-2 adrenergic receptor with sedation, anti-anxiety and analgesic effects.
Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of sedation with dexmedetomidine on the incidence of AF in patients admitted to the intensive care unit after CABG surgery.
In this study, 100 patients underwent CABG surgery and randomly divided into two groups of dexmedetomidine and control. In the dexmedetomidine group, the drug was initiated at the time of closing the sternum at a dose of 0.7 μg/ kg /h and continued in the ICU at a dose of 0.5 μg/ kg /hr as an adjuvant and primary analgesic. Then, the effect of dexmedetomidine on atrial fibrillation and the effects of medication on the duration of hospitalization, the cost of hospitalization and stay in ICU, as well as heart rate, blood pressure and pain in patients were investigated first.
The results showed that there was no significant difference in the incidence of AF after CABG surgery between the two experimental and control groups. On the other hand, patients in the dexmedetomidine group were hospitalized less frequently in the hospital than the control group, which led to a reduction in hospital costs. In addition, pulse, systolic blood pressure, and pain and sedation were significantly lower in control group (P Although the use of dexmedetomidine did not result in a difference in the incidence of AF after CABG surgery, the use of this drug reduced hospital stays, pulse rate, blood pressure and pain in patients.