Effect of dexmedetomidine in preventing etomidate-induced myoclonus: a meta-analysis.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate the effect of dexmedetomidine in the prevention of etomidate-induced myoclonus.

METHODS:

We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding the use of dexmedetomidine in preventing etomidate-induced myoclonus in the databases PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and CNKI. We extracted data and assessed the quality of the literature and adopted RevMan 5.2 to conduct meta-analysis on each effective index and employed funnel plot to test publication bias.

RESULTS:

The results showed that the incidence of etomidate-induced myoclonus in the dexmedetomidine treated groups was significantly lower than that of the control groups (risk ratio [RR]=0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.15, 0.47], P<0.00001). With regard to the severity of etomidate-induced myoclonus, incidences of etomidate-induced myoclonus in the dexmedetomidine treated groups resulting in mild myoclonus (RR=0.37, 95% CI [0.19, 0.75], P=0.006), moderate myoclonus (RR=0.21, 95% CI [0.12, 0.37], P<0.00001), or severe myoclonus (RR=0.18, 95% CI [0.08, 0.38], P<0.00001) were significantly lower than those of the control groups. No statistically significant difference was found (RR=0.70, 95% CI [0.47, 1.04], P=0.08) between etomidate-induced myoclonus in the dexmedetomidine treated groups and that of the midazolam treated groups.

CONCLUSION:

Dexmedetomidine can effectively prevent the incidence of etomidate-induced myoclonus and reduce the severity of etomidate-induced myoclonus. In addition, there were no significant differences between the effects of dexmedetomidine and midazolam in preventing etomidate-induced myoclonus.

• Authors: Xueke Du, Chengmao Zhou, Linghui Pan, Changlong Li
• Journal: Drug design, development and therapy (Drug Des Devel Ther) Vol. 11 Pg. 365-370 ( 2017) ISSN: 1177-8881 [Electronic] New Zealand
• PMID: 28223779 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Review)

Chemical References

• Hypnotics and Sedatives
• Dexmedetomidine
• Etomidate

Topics

• Dexmedetomidine (pharmacology)
• Etomidate (adverse effects)
• Humans
• Hypnotics and Sedatives (pharmacology)
• Myoclonus (chemically induced, prevention & control)