{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T03:05:12Z","timestamp":1777863912993,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n Perinatal sleep disturbance is highly prevalent among women undergoing elective cesarean section. Dexmedetomidine has been proven effective in improving sleep quality in patients undergoing general surgery, and this study aimed to investigate its potential efficacy in improving postoperative sleep quality in the elective cesarean section population.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n A total of 68 parturients scheduled for elective cesarean section were randomly allocated to the dexmedetomidine group (Group D) and the control group (Group C). Following fetal delivery, Group D received an intravenous bolus infusion of 0.5\u202f\u03bcg\/kg dexmedetomidine within 15\u202fmin, while Group C was administered an equal volume of normal saline as a control. Outcome measures included sleep quality scores at 1st, 2nd, 3rd day and 6th week postoperatively, STAI score at 1st, 2nd and 3rd day postoperatively, resting and activity-related pain scores at 24\u202fh postoperatively, 24-h consumption of patient-controlled PCEA, the incidence of intraoperative shivering, EPDS scores at 6th week postoperatively and NBNA scores within 24\u202fh\/48\u202fh after surgery. All outcomes were systematically recorded and compared between the two groups.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Group D had significantly higher sleep quality scores than Group C at the first postoperative night and 6th week postoperatively (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001 and\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.01, respectively). At 24\u202fh postoperatively, Group D exhibited lower activity-related pain scores and reduced 24-h PCEA consumption compared with Group C (both\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001), and postoperative anxiety levels were significantly decreased in Group D on the first postoperative day (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.05). No significant difference was observed in EPDS scores between the two groups at 6th week postoperatively. Additionally, the incidence of intraoperative shivering was markedly lower in Group D than in Group C (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001) and the NBNA scores were similar between Group D and Group C.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n For parturients undergoing elective cesarean section, intraoperative intravenous bolus infusion of dexmedetomidine exerts a positive effect on improving sleep quality at the first postoperative night and 6th week postoperatively, as well as reducing activity-related pain scores at 24\u202fh postoperatively.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Clinical trial registration<\/jats:title>\n \n Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2500106212)\n https:\/\/www.chictr.org.cn\/showprojEN.html?proj=280761<\/jats:ext-link>\n .\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1823100","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T05:33:25Z","timestamp":1777527205000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dexmedetomidine for improving postpartum sleep quality following cesarean section in women: a randomized controlled trial"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Jie","family":"Gao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chen-Chen","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xin-Yue","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Meng-Meng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yong-Lu","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rui","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University","place":["Hefei, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1111\/1471-0528.16937","article-title":"Proposed domains for assessing postpartum recovery: a concept elicitation study","volume":"129","author":"Sultan","year":"2022","journal-title":"BJOG"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2020.00161","article-title":"Prevalence of poor sleep quality in perinatal and postnatal women: a comprehensive Meta-analysis of observational studies","volume":"11","author":"Yang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front Psych"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"351","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychores.2014.09.016","article-title":"The impact of sleep, stress, and depression on postpartum weight retention: a systematic review","volume":"77","author":"Xiao","year":"2014","journal-title":"J 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