Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41142229›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in pharmacology2025

Dexmedetomidine for postoperative delirium in surgical patients: a mini-review of mechanisms, clinical evidence, and practical implementation.

Xiao-Yan Li, Jing-Yi Yang, Yi Qiu, Cai-Xia Wang, Xiao-Dong Wang

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Post-Operative Delirium in Elderly Patients: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Xiao-Yan Li *Department of Anaesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.
Jing-Yi Yang *Department of Anaesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.
Yi QiuDepartment of Anaesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.
Cai-Xia WangDepartment of Anaesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.
Xiao-Dong WangDepartment of Anaesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common acute neurocognitive disorder in the perioperative period, significantly increasing the risks of mortality and long-term functional decline. Dexmedetomidine, a highly selective α2-adrenergic receptor agonist, demonstrates potential for POD prevention through multimodal mechanisms, including sympatholytic effects, neuroinflammation attenuation, and physiological sleep preservation. Clinical evidence indicates its efficacy in reducing delirium incidence in cardiac surgery (risk ratio (RR), 0.57) and elderly non-cardiac surgical patients (RR, 0.51), though with notable population heterogeneity and risks of adverse effects such as bradycardia. Current guidelines recommend a dosing range of 0.1-0.7 μg/kg/h, yet monitoring requirements (e.g., electroencephalogram vs. hemodynamics) vary regionally. Future research should focus on precision dosing (e.g., biomarker-guided approaches), next-generation α2-agonists, and optimized multimodal strategies. The clinical application of dexmedetomidine requires careful risk-benefit assessment and integration into individualized perioperative protocols.

Indexed as

clinical applicationdexmedetomidinemanagementperspectivepostoperative delirium

Identifiers

PMID41142229
PMCPMC12549641

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.