Safety of Anesthesia With Dexmedetomidine for Muscle and Nerve Biopsy – A Review of 100 Cases

Pain during muscle and nerve biopsies is a distressing complication for patients. Dexmedetomidine, an α2-adrenoreceptor agonist, has analgesic as well as sedative effects and causes less respiratory depression. This study aimed to clarify the safety of anesthesia using dexmedetomidine for muscle and nerve biopsies. We retrospectively evaluated the safety in 100 patients who underwent anesthesia with dexmedetomidine during muscle or nerve biopsies at our institution. Adverse events were defined as follows: bradycardia as heart rate <50 bpm, hypotension as systolic blood pressure <70 mmHg, desaturation as SpO2 < or =93%, and delayed awakening as being unable to drink or eat within two hours post-operation. The major adverse events were bradycardia (20 out of 98 patients, 20%) and hypotension (six out of 100 patients, 6%); however, these adverse events did not interrupt the biopsy. There was no adverse desaturation. None of the biopsies had to be interrupted due to any other adverse event. Our findings suggest that dexmedetomidine can be safely administered for muscle and nerve biopsies.