Categories

Volume 7 Issue 8 (August, 2019)

Original Articles

Assessment of efficacy of Dexamethasone as an adjuvant to Bupivacaine for spinal anesthesia
Akansha Sharma, Rajeev Kumar

Background: Increasing duration of local anaesthetic action is desired for prolongation of postoperative patient comfort, as well as decreasing perioperative opioid consumption and subsequent side effects. In regional anesthesia local anaesthetics alone provide analgesia for not more than 4-8 hours. Increasing the duration of local anaesthetic action is often desirable because it prolongs surgical anaesthesia and analgesia. A number of adjuvant medications have been used in an attempt to prolong regional blockade. Aim of the study: To assess efficacy of Dexamethasone as an adjuvant to Bupivacaine for spinal anesthesia. Materials and methods: The present study was conducted in the Department of Anesthesia of the Medical institute. For the study, we selected 80 patients scheduled for abdominal surgery with ASA I and II. We excluded patients who were allergic to anesthetic drugs, had systemic disorders which could hamper the results of the study such as diabetes mellitus or bleeding disorders. The patients were randomly grouped into two groups, Group 1 and Group 2 with 40 subjects in each group. Subjects in group 1 were administered intrathecal bupivacaine-dexamathasone; however, subjects in group 2 were administered intrathecal bupivacaine- normal saline. The evaluation of sensory block was done using pin prick test with a short bevel needle along mid-axillary line bilaterally. The assessment was done every 5 minutes awaiting a level 4 sensory level regression till end of the surgical procedure. Anesthesia onset time, sensory block time period, pain free time-period was recorded for each patient. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between demographic characteristics of the patients of both groups. The anesthesia onset time for Group 1 was 13.65 minutes as compared to 12.11 minutes for Group 2.  The sensory block time period for Group 1 was 129.87 minutes in comparison to Group 2 that was 114.21 minutes. Also, pain free time-period for Group 1 was 214.25 minutes as compared to Group 2 that was 225.54 minutes. Conclusion:  Dexamethasone with bupivacaine effectively delays the sensory block in spinal anesthesia for abdominal surgeries. Thus, it can be successfully used for spinal anesthesia.
Keywords: Bupivacaine, Dexamethasone, Spinal anesthesia, steroid.

Received: 15 March, 2019                                         Revised:  02 August 2019                         Accepted: 05 August 2019

Corresponding author: Dr. Akansha Sharma, PG Resident, Department Of Anaesthesia , MGM Medical College Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
This article may be cited as: Sharma A, Kumar R. Assessment of efficacy of Dexamethasone as an adjuvant to Bupivacaine for spinal anesthesia. J Adv Med Dent Scie Res 2019;7(8): 218-222.

 
Html View | Download PDF | Current Issue