Postoperative analgesic effect of dexmedetomidine combined with TPVB applied to open gastrectomy for gastric cancer

Objectives This study is aimed to investigate the analgesic effect of combined dexmedetomidine and thoracic paravertebral nerve block (TPVB) on gastric cancer (GC) patients undergoing open gastrectomy.Methods From May 2019 to Nov 2020, a total of 80 GC patients preparing for open gastrectomy were enrolled in our hospital and were divided into the ropivacaine (RO) group and the ropivacaine + dexmedetomidine (RD) group ad libitum. All of the patients underwent TPVB. The characteristics, usage of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), adverse events, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, inflammatory cytokines, and T cell subgroups between the two groups were compared.Results Patients in the RD group showed the decreased occurrence rate of postoperative adverse events and VAS scores and improved anti-inflammation and immune function. These findings implied that the application of dexmedetomidine in combination with RO in TPVB has a good postoperative analgesic effect, as well as anti-inflammatory and immune-enhancing effects.Conclusions Dexmedetomidine as an adjunct analgesic may be potentially applied in clinical practice for GC patients undergoing open gastrectomy.