Epidural Bupivacaine-Dexmedetomidine versus Bupivacaine-Fentanyl for Anesthesia in Knee Surgeries

Abstract

Epidural anesthesia is one of the preferred modes of regional anesthesia for lower limb orthopedic surgeries. This technique provides not only peri-operative anesthesia but also post-operative analgesia. Bupivacaine is commonly used local anesthetic in epidural anesthesia, many adjuvants added to local anesthetics to enhance the quality and duration of surgical anesthesia, among them are opioids, alpha 2 agonists. Opioids like fentanyl have been a popular choice, it offers faster onset and prolongs the duration of analgesia. Recently, alpha 2 agonists like clonidine and dexmedetomidine have been also used in prolonging the duration of epidural analgesia.To compare the efficacy of using fentanyl and dexmedetomidine with bupivacaine in epidural block for knee surgeries, the time of onset of sensory, motor blockade and the duration of this blockade.After obtaining approval from the Research Ethical Committee of Ain Shams University, this study was conducted in the operating theatres of Ain Shams University Hospital. It was a prospective double-blind randomized clinical study. Study period was 6 months.A total of 50 patients out of 71 consecutive patients met the inclusion criteria and consented for study. These 50 patients were randomized into two groups of 25 each. Out of the total patients, 33 were male and 17 were female.Dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to epidural bupivacaine is a better alternative to fentanyl as it shows faster onset of sensory and motor block, lesser time to attain maximum sensory level and prolonged duration of anesthesia.