You are caring for a patient undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery and plan to use an interscalene catheter for postoperative pain control. According to a recent study, which of the following would most likely result from adding 10 µg dexmedetomidine to the local anesthetic used for the block?
Regional techniques are frequently used to manage pain after upper-extremity surgeries. The most common technique for these blocks is use of only local anesthetic medications. Interest exists in using pharmacologic adjuncts to improve the analgesia provided by regional blocks. Dexmedetomidine has shown promise as an adjunct for intrathecal, caudal and intravenous regional techniques. It has also been shown that using dexmedetomidine as an adjunct for upper-extremity blocks at doses ranging from 100 µg to 1 µg/kg speeds up onset, prolongs block duration and reduces pain scores in varying degrees. When used at a dose of 2.5 µg/mL for single-shot...