Hypotensive anaesthesia and bleeding during endoscopic sinus surgery: an observational study

Significant bleeding during functional endoscopic naso-sinusal surgery (FESS) impairs recognition of anatomical references and may negatively affect surgical outcome. Through their hypotensive effect, adjuvant anaesthetic agents may influence intraoperative bleeding. The present study compared intraoperative bleeding in patients undergoing FESS administered a clonidine-based anaesthetic regimen and in patients receiving other an anaesthetic combination with higher acquisition costs. Prospective observational study included 37 subjects undergoing FESS in 2011. Assessment of intraoperative bleeding was according to type of anaesthesia (clonidine vs. opioid derivatives). Patients receiving clonidine ( N = 11; 29.7 %) presented significantly lower surgical field bleeding scores than those receiving opioid derivatives ( N = 26; 70.3 %) [mean (SD) Boezaart scores 1.91 (0.53) vs. 2.92 (0.79), p