Research progress on application of dexmedetomidine in anesthesia and analgesia in Department of Obstetrics

Dexmedetomidine (Dex), as a highly selective α₂-adrenergic receptor agonist, plays an important role in anesthesia, sedation and postoperative analgesia. At present, Dex is applied in obstetric anesthesia and analgesia, but because of its unique pharmacological characteristics, the Dex can simulate the sedation of natural sleep state, and also has roles of synergistic analgesia, reducing stress response, stabilizing hemodynamics, anti-shiver and no respiratory inhibition, so lots of researchers have studied the application of Dex in Department of Obstetrics. The authors reviewed the application of Dex in obstetric anesthesia and analgesia in order to provide references for anesthesiologists.