Table 2. Postoperative area under the curve (AUC) for numerical rating scale (NRS) pain score at rest and during coughing in patients receiving dexmedetomidine or saline.

Characteristic	Treatment groups
	Group S (n = 26)	Group D (n = 27)	P value
Pain scores at rest
AUC NRSR 1–60 min	3.0 (0.8)	2.7 (0.7)	0.201
AUC NRSR 1–48 h	174.3 (30.3)	122.6 (21.4)	0.000
Pain scores during coughing
AUC NRSC 1–48 h	272.1 (42.9)	186.2 (26.3)	0.000

Values are mean (SD).