Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective α2-adrenergic receptor agonist with favorable sedative, analgesic-sparing and anxiolytic effects. Owing to its relatively mild influence on respiratory function, dexmedetomidine has attracted increasing attention in perioperative management. Intranasal administration, as an emerging route of drug delivery, offers several advantages, including non-invasiveness, high patient compliance and ease of use, thereby further expanding the clinical application of dexmedetomidine in anesthesia practice. Current evidence suggests that intranasal dexmedetomidine is no longer limited to conventional preoperative sedation, but also shows potential value in perioperative emotional and sleep regulation, prevention of emergence agitation, and protection of postoperative brain function. This review summarizes recent advances in the application of intranasal dexmedetomidine in clinical anesthesia, aiming to provide a reference for its rational use in perioperative management.

Wei Luo, Zhong Yang, Jianfu Tang, Qiang Mo, Ying Feng, Qiang Song, Chuanxi Cheng. Advances in the Application of Intranasal Dexmedetomidine in Perioperative Anesthesia Management. Frontiers in Medical Science Research (2026), Vol. 8, Issue 3: 48-55. https://doi.org/10.25236/FMSR.2026.080307.

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