Abstract:Objective To evaluate the effect of Dexmedetomidine (Dex) combined with remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) on regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) and postoperative delirium (POD) in elderly patients with one-lung ventilation (OLV).Methods 80 elderly patients with elective thoracoscopic OLV were selected, and they were divided into 4 groups (20 cases in each group) according to the random number table: the control group (C group), the pure Dex group (Dex group), simple RIPC group (RIPC group) and Dex combined with RIPC group (Dex + RIPC group). Record the rSO2 of each group before induction of anesthesia (T0), before OLV (T1), 10 min after OLV (T2), 30 min after OLV (T3), end of OLV (T4) and at the end of surgery (T5), serum interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) level at T0, T2, T4, 6 h after surgery (T6) and 24 h after surgery (T7), and the occurrence of adverse postoperative complications in each group. POD was evaluated 1 day after operation.Results At T2, rSO2 in the Dex + RIPC group was significantly higher than that in the other 3 groups (P < 0.05); At T3 and T4, rSO2 in C, Dex, RIPC and Dex + RIPC group increased in sequence, and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05); At T5, rSO2 in the RIPC group was significantly higher than that in group C and Dex group (P < 0.05), the Dex + RIPC group was significantly higher than the RIPC group (P < 0.05), but there was no statistical difference between the C and Dex groups. Compared with C group, the difference in CAM-CR scores of Dex group and RIPC group was significantly reduced at 1 day after surgery (P < 0.05), and the Dex + RIPC group was significantly lower than that of Dex group and RIPC group (P < 0.05). The incidence of POD in Dex + RIPC group was significantly lower than that in group C (P < 0.05). Compared with C group, IL-6 and TNF-α in Dex group, RIPC group and Dex + RIPC group decreased at T4, T6 and T7, while IL-10 increased. The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting and agitation in Dex + RIPC group was significantly reduced (P < 0.05).Conclusion Dex combined with RIPC can stabilize the rSO2 level after OLV in elderly patients, and can effectively inhibit the release of inflammatory cytokines and reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium.