Procedural Sedation With Dexmedetomidine in Combination With Ketamine in the Emergency Department

Dexmedetomidine is an alternative agent for procedural sedation in the emergency department thanks to its ability to maintain hemodynamic and respiratory stability. Dexmedetomidine must, however, be combined with a powerful analgesic.

Our aim was to evaluate the quality and safety of procedural sedation using the combination of dexmedetomidine and ketamine for patients undergoing painful procedures in the emergency department.

This prospective interventional single-center study was conducted in an academic emergency department of an urban hospital in Brussels, Belgium. Patients received a bolus injection of 1 µg/kg dexmedetomidine over 10 min and then a continuous infusion of 0.6 µg/kg/h followed by a bolus of 1 mg/kg ketamine. The painful procedure was carried out 1 min later. The level of pain was evaluated with a numerical rating scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (maximal pain). The level of patient comfort for the procedure was measured using a comfort scale.

Thirty patients were included. Overall, 90% of patients felt little or no pain (n = 29 of 30) or discomfort (n = 28 of 30) during the procedure. One patient experienced apnea with desaturation, which was resolved by a jaw-thrust maneuver. Although 23% of patients had significant arterial hypertension, none required drug treatment.

The combination of dexmedetomidine and ketamine provides conscious sedation, bringing comfort and pain relief to patients in optimal conditions for respiratory and hemodynamic safety. However, sedation and recovery times are longer than with conventional drug combinations. The dexmedetomidine-ketamine combination should therefore be recommended for nonurgent procedures and fragile patients.