Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Crit Care Med. Jun 9, 2026; 15(2): 120336
Published online Jun 9, 2026. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v15.i2.120336
Published online Jun 9, 2026. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v15.i2.120336
Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia associated with dexmedetomidine withdrawal in an adult liver transplant recipient: A case report
Karen Kimura, Shinichi Kai, Moritoki Egi, Department of Anesthesia, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
Author contributions: Kimura K drafted the manuscript and collected clinical data; Kai S managed the patient and contributed to data interpretation; Egi M supervised the study and critically revised the manuscript; and all authors approved the final version.
AI contribution statement: We only used AI tools such as ChatGPT and DeepL for language review and proofreading. The main text content was independently written by the authors, and no AI tool was used in study design or result interpretation. All figures and tables were created by ourselves.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Corresponding author: Shinichi Kai, MD, PhD, Department of Anesthesia, Kyoto University Hospital, 54 Shogoin-Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. s.kai0627@gmail.com
Received: February 25, 2026
Revised: March 12, 2026
Accepted: March 25, 2026
Published online: June 9, 2026
Processing time: 85 Days and 22.6 Hours
Revised: March 12, 2026
Accepted: March 25, 2026
Published online: June 9, 2026
Processing time: 85 Days and 22.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Dexmedetomidine withdrawal in adults is often underrecognized owing to the absence of standardized diagnostic criteria. Although most reports have described hypertension and sinus tachycardia, this case demonstrates paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia as a potentially severe manifestation. The arrhythmia was refractory to conventional antiarrhythmic therapy, including adenosine triphosphate and β-adrenergic antagonists, but resolved rapidly after dexmede