Efficacy and safety of remimazolam versus dexmedetomidine for patients undergoing flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy: A randomized, clinical trial

Remimazolam's benefits for patients undergoing painless flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy remain uncertain. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of remimazolam and dexmedetomidine in flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FFB). Randomized controlled trial. University hospital. Between April 2021 and September 2022, patients undergoing painless flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy were recruited. The patients were randomly assigned with a 1:1 ratio to remimazolam-remifentanil group (RR group) or dexmedetomidine-remifentanil group (DR group). The primary outcome was the procedure interruption rate during bronchoscopy. Secondary outcomes were hemodynamic changes, resuscitation time, rescue medication usage rate and dose, satisfaction scores of patients and bronchoscopists, operation-related complications, and adverse events. A total of 363 patients were included for final analysis. The interruption rates of bronchoscopy were 8.2 % in the RR group and 39.2 % in the DR group (P