Atrial fibrillation is a common clinical arrhythmia[1], and catheter ablation is one of its primary treatment modalities. In persistent atrial fibrillation, patients often require electrical cardioversion to restore sinus rhythm. While electrical cardioversion is advantageous due to its high success rate, rapid conversion, and low risk of proarrhythmia[2, 6, 7], the procedure can be painful. The pain is induced by the electrical current stimulating the skin, the manipulation during cardioversion, and the tense atmosphere, all of which can cause significant discomfort to patients. This unpleasant experience can also lead to psychological distress. Hence, adequate sedation and analgesia are essential to alleviate pain, improve procedural success, and enhance the patient experience.
Propofol is a commonly used sedative agent in clinical practice[8–10]. It is widely applied in various medical procedures and examinations, such as gastrointestinal endoscopy, interventional procedures, and oral surgery, due to its rapid onset, quick metabolism, and lack of accumulation. However, the use of propofol as a single agent for sedation has distinct limitations. Large-scale studies involving 1000 patients undergoing interventional procedures have shown that the incidence of hypotension (SBP < 90 mmHg) following propofol sedation was approximately 14%[8]. Even at normal dosages, propofol can significantly suppress a patient's cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Moreover, its analgesic effect is relatively weak, often necessitating increased dosages to achieve satisfactory results, which, in turn, heightens the risk of adverse events. Therefore, the exploration of a safe and highly effective sedation strategy is of paramount importance.
Dexmedetomidine[3, 4, 11–13] is a highly selective alpha-2 receptor agonist that can stimulate alpha-2 receptors located in the locus coeruleus and spinal cord. It exerts both sedative and analgesic effects. Due to the continuous stimulation of alpha-2 receptors, this drug causes minimal respiratory depression at effective doses and often leads to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, making patients easily arousable. Additionally, when combined with other sedative or analgesic agents, dexmedetomidine can reduce the required dosage of the corresponding drugs and attenuate surgical stress responses[12, 13]. This has led to its use as an adjuvant in anesthesia and analgesia, as well as in sedation during various clinical procedures. Research[14, 15] has suggested that the combination of dexmedetomidine and low-dose propofol can provide satisfactory sedation and analgesia, reduce intraoperative stress responses, and maintain stable vital signs. However, given the lack of experience with the use of dexmedetomidine in sedation during electrical cardioversion, our study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of propofol in combination with dexmedetomidine and propofol alone during the electrical cardioversion process.
The analysis of Table 1 shows that in the P-D group, after the administration of dexmedetomidine at T1, HR started to decrease significantly and continued to be lower than at T0 during the subsequent T1-4 intervals. In the P group, after completing induction, HR at T2-T4 was also lower than at T0, but there were no significant statistical differences in HR changes between the two groups at various time intervals. Following the administration of propofol in both groups, at T2 and T3, both MAP and SpO2 were lower than at T0. However, at T2, the reduction in MAP and SpO2 in the P-D group was significantly smaller than in the P group. At T3, the reduction in MAP was not significantly different between the two groups, but the reduction in SpO2 in the P-D group remained lower than in the P group. This suggests that the P-D group exhibited more stable blood pressure and oxygen saturation, milder respiratory depression, and steadier vital signs after induction. This may be attributed, in part, to the lower respiratory depression associated with dexmedetomidine and the smaller propofol dosage.
As per the adverse events data, the P-D group had a lower incidence of respiratory depression compared to the P group (16.7% vs. 40%; P = 0.045). Additionally, the P-D group showed a lower rate of bradycardia than the P group (13.3% vs. 3.3%). The overall rate of adverse events in the P-D group was significantly lower than in the P group (33.3% vs. 63.3%), with statistical significance (P < 0.05), as presented in Table 4.
Table 5 demonstrates that the analgesic satisfaction in the P-D group was significantly higher than in the P group. In the P-D group, 93.3% of patients reported mild pain (0–3 points), while 6.7% reported moderate pain (4–6 points). In the P group, 73.4% of patients reported mild pain, 23.3% reported moderate pain, and 3.3% reported severe pain. The higher analgesic satisfaction in the P-D group is of significant importance for alleviating patient pain and improving the procedural success rate.
Some studies have reported that dexmedetomidine can cause hypotension by activating postsynaptic alpha-2 receptors, leading to sympathetic nerve inhibition. It can also induce biphasic hemodynamic responses, initially characterized by a rise in blood pressure, followed by reflex bradycardia, which then gradually recovers. This response is typically transient and does not require specific interventions[16, 17]. In our study, both groups experienced heart rate reductions, but there were no significant differences. In the P-D group, the four cases of bradycardia were transient and did not require any treatment, eventually returning to normal ranges. This aligns with the conclusions of previous research. In our study, no cases of hypotension were observed in the P-D group, and respiratory depression was significantly lower than in the P group, with no need for further intervention. Some studies have shown that the risk of bradycardia and hypotension increases only when critically ill patients are given a maintenance dose exceeding 0.7 µg/kg/h[18]. Therefore, the administration of 0.4 µg/kg/h of dexmedetomidine in our study was safe.
In summary, for patients undergoing electrical cardioversion during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation, the combination of propofol and dexmedetomidine demonstrated excellent sedation and analgesic effects. This approach significantly reduced the propofol dosage, further lowering the risks of hypotension and respiratory depression, thus enhancing medication safety. It is worthy of consideration for clinical application
Ethics declarations