Objective To observe the preoperative sedation and postoperative agitation effects of intranasal dexmedetomidine premedication on children undergoing cleft lip or palate repair surgery. Methods One hundred and twenty children aged 6 months to 3 years old undergoing elective cleft lip or palate repair surgery were randomly allocated into two groups. Thirty minutes before operation, patients in group A received intranasal placebo(0.9% saline) 0.02 mL·kg-1. Patients in group B received intranasal dexmedetomidine 2 μg·kg-1. The children’s time for falling asleep was observed. The preoperative sedation score, the profile of mood state apart from parents, the receipt score of face mask for anesthesia induction and the postoperative agitation score were evaluated. Results The time for children in group B in falling asleep was (10.52±5.34) min. The preoperative sedation score, the profile of mood state apart from parents, the receipt score of face mask and the postoperative agitation in group B were better than group A(P
