Comparison of the Sedative Effect and Recovery Time of Dexmedetomidine and Fentanyl During Elective Colonoscopy: Double Blind Clinical Trial

Various drugs such as propofol or midazolam with or without fentanyl are used for colonoscopy. In this study, we compared the effect of sedative and the recovery time of dexmedetomidine and fentanyl during elective colonoscopy. In a double blind clinical trial, 80 patients (20-70 years) with colonoscopy were randomly divided into two equal groups. In the intervention group, dexmedetomidine was administered 1mcg / kg and in the control group, fentanyl 0.5 mg / kg before the start of colonoscopy. Propofol (20 mg) was administered as a bolus dose if needed during colonoscopy.
The sedation score based on the Ramsay sedation scale and the mean bolus dose of propofol was recorded. Recovery time and pain after colonoscopy based on Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was recorded before the discharge. The two groups did not have a significant difference in age, sex and sedation score (P> 0.05). The mean bolus dose of propofol in the fentanyl group was 72.00 ± 14.00 mg and 7.7 ± 0.24 mg in the dexmedetomidine group (P = 0.000). The recovery time in the fentanyl group was 4.38 ± 2.28 minutes and in the dexmedetomidine group was 2.63 ± 2.21 minutes (P = 0.000). Pain score after colonoscopy (VAS) in the fentanyl group was 2.30 ± 0.99 and in the dexmedetomidine group was 1.98 ± 0.70 (P = 0.039). The combination of dexmedetomidine and propofol is a more appropriate drug than fentanyl and propofol for colonoscopy due to shorter recovery