Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common in people who have experienced trauma, especially those hospitalized for surgery.

Dexmedetomidine may reduce or reverse the early consolidation and formation of conditioned fear memory and prevent the occurrence of postoperative PTSD.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of intraoperative and postoperative low-dose intravenous pumping dexmedetomidine on PTSD among patients with trauma undergoing emergency surgery.

This double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted from January 22 to October 20, 2022, with follow-up 1 month postoperatively, in patients with trauma undergoing emergency surgery at 4 hospital centers in Jiangsu Province, China. A total of 477 participants were screened.

The observers were blinded to patient groupings, particularly for subjective measurements.