Dexmedetomidine is a versatile sedative agent widely used both in anaesthesia and intensive care. We present the case of a 32-year-old woman with a long-term history of non-prescribed intravenous opioid use who underwent elective resection of a skull base tumour. There was difficulty in achieving an adequate depth of anaesthesia despite the high levels of intravenous and volatile anaesthetic agent. Intra-operatively, a bolus and subsequent infusion of dexmedetomidine helped achieve an adequate depth of anaesthesia. This report highlights some of the benefits of dexmedetomidine for patients who are opioid tolerant, both intra-and postoperatively. It also demonstrates the wide range of beneficial effects dexmedetomidine could have when used as a rescue adjunct in neuroanaesthesia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.