Abstract :
Background : Brachial plexus blockade via supraclavicular approach for upper limb surgery can
significantly reduce pain, decreases the need for post operative analgesics, decreases the incidence of
nausea and vomiting, increases patient satisfaction and allows for faster discharge from hospital when
compared with general anesthesia.
Aim is to study the use of an adjuvant Dexamethasone with local anesthetic bupivacaine and lignocaine
with adrenaline for the onset of sensory block, onset of motor block and the duration.
Materials and Methods: This is a prospective, comparative and observational study of 60 patients who
were divided randomly into two groups with each 30 patients:
GROUP C received 15 ml of bupivacaine 0.5%, 15ml of 2% lignocaine with adrenaline and 2ml of normal
saline to a total volume of 32ml.
GROUP D received 15 ml of bupivacaine 0.5%, 15ml of 2% lignocaine with adrenaline and 2ml of
Dexamethasone to a total volume of 32ml.
Statistical Analysis : Cross tabs, Independent Samples t test, Repeated Measure ANOVA were used. SPSS
for windows (version 17.0) was employed for data analysis.
Results : Demographic parameters like age, weight, height, BMI were comparable between the two groups
with p value >0.05
We observed that, onset of both sensory and motor block was earlier in group D and duration of sensory
block and motor block was more in group D. Also, there was less requirement of rescue analgesics in group
D.
Conclusion: Dexamethasone added to the routine local anesthetic bupivacaine and 2% lignocaine and
adrenaline is an effecient and safe choice for rapid onset and increases the duration of oth sensory and
motor block in brachial plexus block.
Keyword :
Brachial plexus, Supralavicular approach, Dexamethasone