Comparison of Procedural Sedation With Propofol and Dexmedetomidine During Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Using the Transfemoral Approach

Although procedural sedation is an established method of anesthesia for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), reliable evidence to guide the choice of a suitable sedative agent remains scarce. Accordingly, this trial aimed to compare the effect of procedural sedation with dexmedetomidine versus propofol on postoperative neurocognitive and related clinical outcomes in patients undergoing TAVR.Prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial.The study was conducted at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia.The study enrolled 78 patients who underwent TAVR under procedural sedation between January 2019 and June 2021. Seventy-one patients randomized into the propofol group (n = 34) and dexmedetomidine group (n = 37) were included in the final analysis.Patients in the propofol group received sedation with propofol (continuous intravenous infusion of 0.5-2.5 mg/kg/h), whereas patients in the dexmedetomidine group received sedation with dexmedetomidine (loading dose of 0.5 µg/kg over 10 minutes followed by continuous intravenous infusion of 0.2-1.0 µg/kg/h).Minimental state examination (MMSE) was performed before and 48 hours after TAVR. There was no statistically significant difference in MMSE scores between groups before TAVR (p = 0.253), but the MMSE after the procedure revealed a significantly lower incidence of delayed neurocognitive recovery (p = 0.005) and thus better cognitive outcomes in the dexmedetomidine group (p = 0.022).Compared with propofol, procedural sedation with dexmedetomidine in TAVR was associated with a significantly lower incidence of delayed neurocognitive recovery.