Abstract :
Background & Objectives: Bupivacaine is the most frequently used local anaesthetic for caudal anaesthesia in children. Ropivacaine provides pain relief similar to bupivacaine with lesser motor blockade and cardiotoxicity. To compare caudal 0.25% ropivacaine and 0.25% bupivacaine in terms of the quality and duration of analgesia, motor and sensory block for sub-umbilical surgeries in children.
Materials & Methods: In a double-blinded randomized comparative study, 60 children aged 3-8 years were randomly allocated to receive a presurgical caudal injection of 0.75ml/kg of either 0.25% Ropivacaine (Group R) or 0.25% Bupivacaine (Group B) after induction of general anaesthesia. Apart from monitoring the vital parameters, all children were assessed for postoperative analgesia by Hannallah pain scale and for motor blockade by Motor power score. The time for full sensory recovery was also observed.
Results: The groups were comparable for age, sex, weight, height, vital signs, duration and type of surgery. The duration of postoperative pain relief did not differ between the two groups (338.83±44.75 min (group R) Vs 346.67±51.06 min (group B). The motor blockade recovered quickly in group R (113.50±10.18 min) than in group B (128.50±17.48 min) P
Keyword :
Caudal epidural, Ropivacaine, Bupivacaine, Hannallah pain score, Motor block, Post-op analgesia