Dexmedetomidine in the Management of Awake Fiberoptic Intubation

Abstract

Awake Fibreoptic Intubation (AFOI) is, nowadays, the gold standard in predicted difficult airway management. Numerous practice guidelines have been developed to assist clinicians facing with a difficult airway. If conducted without sedation, it is common that this procedure may lead to high patient discomfort and severe hemodynamic responses. Sedation is frequently used to make the process more tolerable to patients even if it is not always easy to strike a balance between patient comfort, safety, co-operation, and good intubating conditions. In the last years, many drugs and drug combinations have been described. This minireview aims to discuss the evidence supporting the use of Dexmedetomidine (DEX) in the AFOI management.