Multiple prostatic pathologies become evident in the elderly males. Of them, benign prostatic hyperplasia is one of the most prevalent issues in aging men and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) still represents the standard surgical treatment.~Most transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) procedures are performed under spinal anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia has many advantages including, easy application, low cost, decreasing the risk of aspiration, decreasing intraoperative bleeding, eliminating the need for mechanical ventilation together with the decreased risk of intraoperative cardiac events or post-operative hypoxic episode.~The management of post-operative pain following spinal anesthesia using a short-acting anesthetic still constitutes a major problem for anesthesiologists and pain physicians. However, the duration and efficacy of spinal anesthesia could be improved by adjuvants.~Dexmedetomidine is an alpha 2 receptor agonist that have antinociceptive action for both visceral and somatic pain. At low doses, it has sedative and hypnotic effects without having a negative impact on respiration. Multiple studies have reported that intrathecal and intravenous administration of this drug could prolong the duration of spinal anesthesia and post-operative analgesia.
This study was conducted to compare the effects of intrathecal versus intravenous dexmedetomidine administration in patients undergoing Transurethral resection of the prostate under spinal anesthesia.