Efficacy of dexmedetomidine in prevention of carotid artery stenting-induced intraoperative hypotension.

There are limited data on the impact of light sedation (LS) on changes in intraoperative hypotension related to carotid artery stenting (CAS). We aimed to investigate intraoperative hypotension and perioperative complications in CAS under LS with intravenous dexmedetomidine (Dex). A retrospective analysis of 140 consecutive patients who underwent CAS at our centre from September 2018 to March 2021 was performed. The primary endpoint was the incidence of intraoperative hypotension associated with CAS, defined as continuous systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg. The secondary outcomes were perioperative complications, including dysphoria, transient ischaemic attacks (TIA), stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), reperfusion syndrome, and 24-h haemodynamic events after CAS. Eighty-nine patients were treated under LS, and 51 patients were treated under local anaesthesia (LA). Intraoperative haemodynamic instability was observed in 13 of 140 (9.3%) patients; hypotension occurred in 2.2% (2/89) of patients in the LS group, which was significantly lower than the rate in the LA group (2.2% vs. 11.8%, P = 0.027). Dysphoria occurred in 1.1% of the LS cohort and 15.7% of the LA cohort (P < 0.05). TIA was observed in 2.2% of the LS cohort and 15.7% of the LA cohort (P < 0.05), respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in periprocedural stroke, reperfusion syndrome, or 24-h haemodynamic events after CAS between the two groups, and none of the patients exhibited MI. Performing CAS under LS with intravenous Dex was a safe and effective anaesthesia option in terms of inhibiting intraoperative hypotension and could markedly decrease the incidence of dysphoria and TIA.