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Updated: Jan 4, 2026

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Published on: January 31, 2025
Effect of intrathecal dexmedetomidine on cesarean section during spinal anesthesia: a meta-analysis of randomized
Yun-Qi Wang1,2, Xian-Jie Zhang1, Ying Wang1
1Department of Anesthesiology, People's Hospital of Deyang City, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
Objective:
Intrathecal dexmedetomidine has been used in spinal anesthesia during cesarean sections. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of intrathecal dexmedetomidine on the adverse reactions of spinal anesthesia during cesarean section.
Methods:
We searched for relevant studies using PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane library. After screening studies and extracting data, we performed a meta-analysis on the effect of intrathecal dexmedetomidine during cesarean section.
Results:
A total of 278 patients from 4 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The incidence of shivering in the dexmedetomidine groups was significantly lower than that in the placebo groups during cesarean section (RR=0.40, 95% CI [0.25, 0.65], P=0.0002). Intrathecal dexmedetomidine had no effect on nausea and vomiting (RR=1.08, 95% CI [0.68, 1.71], P=0.74), bradycardia (RR=1.33, 95% CI [0.31, 5.76], P=0.70), and hypotension during cesarean section (RR=0.78, 95% CI [0.59, 1.03], P=0.08).
Conclusion:
Intrathecal dexmedetomidine can effectively reduce the occurrence of shivering during cesarean section, but it does not affect the occurrence of nausea and vomiting, bradycardia or hypotension.
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