Comparison between lignocaine nebulization and airway nerve block for awake fiberoptic bronchoscopy-guided nasotracheal intubation: a single-blind randomized prospective study / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: The preferred management strategy for difficult airways is awake fiberoptic bronchoscopy-guided intubation, which requires effective airway anesthesia to ensure patient comfort and acceptance. This randomized single-blind prospective study was conducted to compare lignocaine nebulization and airway nerve block for airway anesthesia prior to awake fiberoptic bronchoscopy-guided intubation. METHODS: Sixty adult patients scheduled for surgical procedures under general anesthesia were randomly allocated to two groups. Group N received jet nebulization (10 ml of 4% lignocaine) and Group B received bilateral superior laryngeal and transtracheal recurrent laryngeal nerve blocks (each with 2 ml of 2% lignocaine) followed by fiberoptic bronchoscopy-guided nasotracheal intubation. All patients received procedural sedation with dexmedetomidine. The intubation time, intubating conditions, vocal cord position, cough severity, and degree of patient satisfaction were recorded. Student’s t test was used to analyze parametric data, while the Mann-Whitney U test was applied to non-parametric data and Fisher’s test to categorical data. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The time taken for intubation was significantly shorter in Group B [115.2 (14.7) s compared with Group N [214.0 (22.2) s] (P = 0.029). The intubating conditions and degree of patient comfort were better in Group B compared with Group N. Although all patients were successfully intubated, patient satisfaction was higher in Group B. CONCLUSIONS: Airway nerve blocks are preferable to lignocaine nebulization as they provide superior-quality airway anesthesia. However, nebulization may be a suitable alternative when a nerve block is not feasible.

Comparison of dexmedetomidine and fentanyl as intrathecal adjuvants to 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine for total abdominal hysterectomy under subarachnoid block: a prospective randomized double blind study

Background: Subarachnoid block is still the most commonly used anesthetic technique for lower abdominal surgeries, however local anesthetics alone are associated with relatively short duration of action.The intrathecal adjuvants has been reported to improve the quality of anesthesia along with prolongation of postoperative analgesia and has gained popularity nowadays. So the aim of our study was to compare the dexmedetomidine and fentanyl as intrathecal adjuvant to 0.5% hyberbaric 0.396 bupivacaine with regards respect to onset and duration of sensory and motor block, duration of analgesia, hemodynamic variations and incidence of side effects

Material and Methods: Sixty four female patients, aged 30-60 years, belonging to American Society of Anesthesiologists [ASA] physical status I or II, scheduled for elective total abdominal hysterectomy with or without bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were randomly allocated into two groups, Group BD received 2.5 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine and 5 microg dexmedetomidine diluted in 0.5 ml preservative free normal saline while Group BF received 2.5 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine and 25microg [0.5 ml] fentanyl

Results: There was no statistically significant difference between two groups with respect to onset of sensory and motor block, [p > 0.05]. The mean time for two segment sensory regression was significantly slower in Group BD as compared to Group BF, [p < 0.05]. Patients in Group BD had significantly prolonged duration of sensory and motor block as compared to Group BF [p < 0.05]. Similarly the duration of analgesia was significantly prolonged in Group BD [p < 0.05], along with reduced requirement of rescue analgesics. The patients in both groups did not show any significant difference with respect to hemodynamic changes and incidence of side effects [p > 0.05]

Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine as intrathecal adjuvant was found to have prolonged sensory and motor block, provide good quality of intraoperative analgesia, stable hemodynamics, minimal side effects and prolonged postoperative analgesia along with reduced demand for rescue analgesics as compared to fentanyl