Effect of added analgesic clonidine or vasoconstrictor epinephrine to bupivacaine spinal anesthesia [experimental study on dogs]

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to study the effect of either clonidine or epinephrine on the duration of bupivacaine spinal anesthesia, 18 dogs were studied, they were divided into three equal groups, each of six dogs. In group 1, 1 ml bupivacaine [5 mg/ml] alone was injected intrathecally, whereas in group 2, clonidine [150 mug] was added to bupivacaine and in group 3 epinephrine in a dose of 200 mug was added to bupivacaine. It was found that clonidine as an adjunct to bupivacaine spinal anesthesia may provide advantage over epinephrine including prolongation of the duration of both motor and sensory blockade with more effect on the duration of sensory blockade