Objective To investigate the effect of intra-articular injection of dexmedetomidine combined with ropivacaine on postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing shoulder joint surgery.Methods Sixty-six patients undergoing shoulder arthroscopy in a hospital in Shenyang from December 2018 to January 2020 were selected for the study.They were divided into a control group and an observation group

33 cases each

according to the random number table method.Methods Patients in the control group were treated with intra-articular injection of ropivacaine for analgesia after surgery

and patients in the observation group were treated with dexmedetomidine for analgesia on top of the control group.The time of first postoperative analgesia

the total amount of analgesic drugs at 24 h postoperatively and the clinical efficacy were compared between the two groups

and the UCLA shoulder rating scale（UCLA shoulder） scores and visual analog scale（VAS） scores were compared before and 2 weeks after surgery.Results The total number of effective cases in the control group was 25

and the total effective rate of treatment was 75.8%

while the total number of effective cases in the observation group was 31

and the total effective rate of treatment was 93.9%.The total effective rate of treatment in the study group was higher than that in the control group

and the difference was statistically significant（χ~2=4.243

P=0.039）.Before surgery

there was no statistically significant difference between the UCLA shoulder scores of the 2 groups（P>0.05）.At 2 weeks after surgery

the UCLA shoulder scores were significantly higher in both groups than before surgery

and the observation group was significantly higher than the control group

and the differences were statistically significant（P<0.05）.Before surgery

there was no statistically significant difference between the VAS scores of the 2 groups（P>0.05）.At 2 weeks after surgery

the VAS scores of patients in both groups were significantly lower than those before surgery

and the observation group was significantly lower than the control group

and the differences were statistically significant（P<0.05）.The first postoperative analgesic time was significantly longer in the observation group than in the control group

and the difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）

and the total amount of analgesic drugs used within 24 h after surgery in the observation group was significantly less than that in the control group

and the difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）.Conclusion Intra-articular injection of dexmedetomidine combined with ropivacaine is more effective in postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing shoulder surgery

and patients can recover shoulder function significantly.It can also prolong the duration of postoperative analgesia and reduce the dependence on other analgesic drugs after surgery

which is worthy of in-depth clinical study and application.