Regional versus systemic dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to lidocaine for intravenous regional anaesthesia in healthy volunteers: a randomized crossover study

Figures & data

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of lidocaine forearm IVRA. Abbreviations: IVRA: intravenous regional anaesthesia; Dex: dexmedetomidine; Lido: lidocaine.

Figure 2. Flow diagram of subjects’eligibility, randomization, and crossover. Abbreviations: IVRA: intravenous regional anaesthesia.

Table 1. Subject demographic data.

Variable	Value
Sample size, n	12
Mean age (SD) in years	24.9 (4.6)
Sex, n (%)
Male	6 (50%)
Female	6 (50%)
Median height [IQR] in cm	164.5 [162.5–179.3]
Mean weight (SD) in kg	66.3 (12.2)
Mean BMI (SD) in kg/m^2	23.0 (2.7)

Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index; IQR: interquartile range; SD: standard deviation.

Figure 3. Individual data points are shown in the plot. The P value was calculated using a paired t test. Abbreviations: Dex_Sys: systemic dexmedetomidine; Dex_Reg: regional dexmedetomidine.

Figure 4. Comparison of onset time and recovery time of the sensory block. Notes: Compared with systemic infusion, regional dexmedetomidine accelerated the onset of sensory block (A) and prolonged the recovery of sensory block (B). The data are presented as the median [interquartile range]. The P values were calculated using the paired Wilcoxon signed rank test. Abbreviations: Dex_Sys: systemic dexmedetomidine; Dex_Reg: regional dexmedetomidine.

Figure 5. Comparison of Ramsay sedation scores in two intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA) schemes. The data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation and were analyzed using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA with Bonferroni’s multiple comparison tests at individual time points. Statistical significance between the two IVRA schemes is denoted by asterisks (*p <  0.05). Abbreviations: Dex_Sys: systemic dexmedetomidine; Dex_Reg: regional dexmedetomidine.

Data availability statement

The data and materials supporting the results or analyses presented in this paper are available upon reasonable request.