ABSTRACT
Objectives:Spinal anesthesia provides profound nerve block that can be produced in a large part of thebody by simple injection of a small amount of local anesthetic. But Intrathecal local anesthetics have limited duration. Different drugs have been used as additive to prolong spinal anesthesia. corticosteroids in prolonging the analgesic effects of local anesthetics in peripheral nerves is well documented. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the addition of dexamethasone to intrathecal bupivacaine would prolong the duration of sensory analgesia or not.Methods:We conducted a randomized, prospective, double-blind, case-control, clinical trial. A total of 50 patients were scheduled for orthopedic surgery under spinal anesthesia. The patients were randomly allocated to receive 15 mg hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% with 2 cc normal saline (control group) or 15 mg hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% plus 8 mg dexamethasone (case group) intrathecally. The patients were evaluated for quality, quantity, and duration of block; blood pressure, heart rate, nausea, and vomiting or other complications.Results:There were no significantly higher in the case group (P<0.001). The duration of analgesia was 408.92±72.44 minutes in the case group; whereas it was 223±43.67 minutes in the control group (P<0.001). The frequency of complications was not different between two groups.