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Increased intraocular pressure (IOP) during surgery is a risk factor for postoperative ophthalmological complications. We assessed the efficacy of systemically infused dexmedetomidine in preventing the increase in IOP caused by a steep Trendelenburg position, and evaluated the influence of underlying hypertension on IOP during surgery. Sixty patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery in a steep Trendelenburg position were included. Patients in the dexmedetomidine group received a 1.0 µg/kg IV loading dose of dexmedetomidine before anesthesia, followed by an infusion of 0.5 µg/kg/hr throughout the operation. Patients in the saline group were infused with the same volume of normal saline. IOP and ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) were measured 16 times pre- and intraoperatively. In the saline group, IOP increased in the steep Trendelenburg position, and was 11.3 mmHg higher at the end of the time at the position compared with the baseline value (before anesthetic induction). This increase in IOP was attenuated in the dexmedetomidine group, for which IOP was only 4.2 mmHg higher (P < 0.001 vs. the saline group). The steep Trendelenburg position was associated with a decrease in OPP; the degree of decrease was comparable for both groups. In intragroup comparisons between patients with underlying hypertension and normotensive patients, the values of IOP at every time point were comparable. Dexmedetomidine infusion attenuated the increase in IOP during laparoscopic surgery in a steep Trendelenburg position, without further decreasing the OPP. Systemic hypertension did not seem to be associated with any additional increase in IOP during surgery. (Registration at the Clinical Research Information Service of Korea National Institute of Health ID: KCT0001482)

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