TO STUDY AND COMPARE THE EFFECT OF DEXMEDETOMIDINE AND FENTANY AS AN ADJUVANT TO LEVOBUPIVACAINE IN INTERSCALENE BRACHIAL PLEXUS BLOCK FOR HUMERUS SURGERY: A PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED DOUBLE-BLIND CONTROLLED STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: Interscalene brachial plexus block provides complete and reliable anaesthesia for surgery of humerus as well as analgesia for postoperative period. Many studies are being done for the search for an adjuvant which when added to a local anaesthetic, prolong the duration of postoperative analgesia. Therefore we compared the effect of fentanyl and dexmedetomidine on postoperative analgesia when added to levobupivacaine for Interscalene brachial plexus block. Material and Methods: In this prospective study, 90 patients were randomly allocated to 3 groups:  Group C (n=30) recieved 30 ml of 0.5% levobupivacaine, Group D (n=30) recieved 30 ml of 0.5% levobupivacaine + dexmedetomidine 1 ?g/kg, Group F (n=30) recieved 30 ml of 0.5% levobupivacaine + fentanyl 1 ?g/kg. The duration of blockade and analgesia were assessed for all the three groups.

Observations: Demographic profile was comparable in all the groups. The onset of sensory and motor block and duration of analgesia and motor block were enhanced in Group D and Group F as compared to Group C. The mean pulse rate and mean arterial pressure were slightly lower in dexmedetomidine group than in other two groups.

Results: Compared to the use of levobupivacaine alone for interscalene brachial plexus block, addition of 1 mcg/kg dexmedetomidine or 1 mcg/kg fentanyl to levobupivacaine enhanced the onset of blockade as well as increased the duration of blockade and post-operative analgesia. Also, the blockade characteristics were better improved with addition of dexmedetomidine to levobupivacaine than addition of fentanyl to levobupivacaine without increasing incidence of any unwanted side-effects.

Keywords: Interscalene brachial plexus block, Levobupivacaine, Fentanyl, Dexmedetomidine.