Comparing the effects of Dexmedetomidine compared to intravenous remifentanil in controlling pain after lumbar spine surgery

Background Postoperative pain is one of the common side effects and one of the important problems of modern anesthesia, which is also awkward for patients. Post-operative pain can cause many complications, so postoperative pain control should be a comprehensive approach. Anesthetic drugs, anesthesia method and type of surgery are effective in the amount of pain after the operation of the patient, and with some optimizations, the patient's pain can be reduced and controlled. Methods In this trial, 92 patients who were candidates for lumbar spine surgery were included in the study. Anesthesia was maintained in these patients with dexmedomidine or remifentanil, and patients' pain was measured and monitored at certain hours after the operation. Data comparison and analysis of two groups was done in SPSS16 software. Results In this study, data from 92 patients were analyzed in two groups: one receiving remifentanil and the other dexmedetomidine. According to the results, the highest mean pain scores were recorded two hours after surgery: the VAS score was 5.6 ± 1.5 in the remifentanil group and 3.5 ± 1.2 in the dexmedetomidine group. The RSAS score two hours after surgery was 2.8 ± 0.75 for the remifentanil group and 1.7 ± 0.6 for the dexmedetomidine group. The OPS score two hours after surgery was − 1.2 in the remifentanil group and − 0.58 in the dexmedetomidine group. Conclusion In examining the level of pain control in patients whose anesthesia was maintained in the two groups of dexmedetomidine and remifentanil, a significant difference was observed and dexmedetomiden group had less pain than remifentanil group. Trial registration The Ethics Committee of Alborz University of Medical Sciences granted ethical approval for our study protocol on April 11, 2024 (2024-04-11). The study was officially registered with the Iranian Clinical Trial Registry (IRCT20241030063548N1) on November 14, 2024.