EFFECTS OF DEXMEDETOMIDINE ON PERIOPERATIVE BLOOD CIRCULATION MICROMETASTASIS, POSTOPERATIVE ANALGESIA, SERUM PAIN MEDIATORS AND IMMUNE FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH LUNG CANCER

Gongjin Chen^{1, *}, Guoping Zheng², Lu Cai¹, Yangyang Guo¹, Jinping Zhou¹, Fei Yuan¹, Zhifeng Wang¹

¹Department of Anesthesiology, Shaoxing Second Hospital, Shaoxing, PR China - ²Department of Thoracic, Shaoxing Second Hospital, Shaoxing, PR China 

Objective: To analyze the effects of dexmedetomidine on perioperative blood circulation micrometastasis, postoperative analgesia, serum pain mediators and immune function in patients with lung cancer. 

Methods: 116 patients with lung cancer treated in our hospital tumor center from May 2016 to July 2018 were recruited and randomly divided into the control group (58 cases) and the observation group (58 cases). Dexmedetomidine was continuously pumped until the end of the operation for the patients in the observation group, and the control group was given the same amount of saline until the end of the operation. The CK19 and CK20 positive rates of blood circulation micrometastasis were compared between the two groups; the postoperative pain of patients in two groups was evaluated using the visual analogue score (VAS); serum serotonin (5-HT), nitric oxide (NO), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels of patients in two groups were compared; the immune function indexes CD3⁺, CD₄⁺, CD₈⁺, CD₄⁺/CD₈⁺ ratio, and NK cell levels of patients in the two groups were compared. 

Results: The positive rates of CK19 and CK20 in the observation group at T3 were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05); the VAS scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group at 4h, 8h, 24h, and 48h after surgery(P<0.05); At 1d, 3d, and 5d after surgery, the levels of 5-HT, NO, and PGE2 in the two groups were significantly lower than those before surgery (P<0.05), and the observation group was significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05); At the T2 and T3 time points, the CD₃⁺, CD₈⁺, and NK in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), and the CD₄⁺, CD₄⁺/CD₈⁺ ratios at the T2 and T3 time points were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). 

Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine can effectively reduce tumor micrometastasis, reduce the pain level of patients, improve the immune status of patients, and promote the early recovery of patients after surgery in patients with lung cancer during perioperative period.