A Comparative Study of Bilateral Erector Spinae Block Versus Intravenous Dexmedetomidine for Perioperative Pain Management in Patients Undergoing Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting - A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Regional analgesia, along with general anesthesia, reduce postoperative pain. In this study, the authors compared the erector spinae plane (ESP) block having dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant with conventional pain management along with intravenous dexmedetomidine. DESIGN: Prospective randomized single-blinded trial. SETTING: Tertiary care teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: All of the patients scheduled for elective off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting with an ejection fraction of >45%. INTERVENTIONS: After obtaining institutional ethical committee approval, 130 patients were randomized into Group E and Group D. Group E patients received ESP block bilaterally with 25 mL of bupivacaine plus 0.5 µg/kg of dexmedetomidine. The patients in Group D received conventional intravenous analgesia, as well as a 0.7 µg/kg of dexmedetomidine bolus, followed by a 0.3 µg/kg dexmedetomidine infusion during surgery and continued postoperatively for 24 hours. Group E patients received 8 mL/h of bupivacaine infusion bilaterally for 24 hours. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome assessed was pain scores in the postoperative period. The secondary outcomes assessed were postoperative rescue analgesic consumption, time to first rescue analgesia, intraoperative fentanyl consumption, duration of mechanical ventilation, and duration of intensive care unit (ICU) stay. RESULTS: Both groups were comparable in demographic characteristics. The postoperative pain scores from 4 hours to 12 hours were lower in Group E compared with Group D. The pain scores at 24 hours were not significantly different between groups. Postoperative fentanyl consumption in Group E (99.23 ± 50.19 µg) was significantly lower than in Group D (181.15 ± 82.92 µg), with a p value of 0.001. Time to first rescue analgesia was significantly longer in Group E, with a median score of 8 hours when compared with that of 4 hours in Group D, with a p value of 0.01. Intraoperative fentanyl consumption was significantly lower in Group E (392.15 ± 55.36 µg) compared with Group D (604.00 ± 131.87 µg; p = 0.001). There were no significant differences in the duration of mechanical ventilation in both groups. Duration of ICU stay was significantly lower in Group E (51.95 ± 8.54 hours) when compared with Group D (59.06 ± 8.68 hours) (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Erector spinae fascial plane blocks appeared to reduce postoperative pain scores in off-pump coronary artery bypass graft patients. Furthermore, ESP block was beneficial in terms of less intraoperative and postoperative opioid consumption, longer time to first rescue analgesia, and shorter ICU stay.

A randomized double-blinded controlled trial comparing ultrasound-guided versus conventional injection for caudal block in children undergoing infra-umbilical surgeries.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Caudal epidural block is widely used in pediatric surgeries to provide intraoperative and postoperative analgesia in infra-umbilical surgeries. The conventional technique involves the risk of multiple punctures and other complications such as dural puncture, vascular puncture, and intraosseous injection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Around 106 children aged between 6 months to 10 years belonging to ASA class I-II scheduled for elective infra-umbilical surgeries were included after obtaining written informed consent from parents/guardians. All children were randomized into two groups: ultrasound-guided (Group U) or conventional caudal group (Group C). All were premedicated with oral midazolam and inhalational induction was done with oxygen and 6-8% sevoflurane. Caudal block of 1 mL/kg of 0.125% bupivacaine was administered in both groups. The primary outcome assessed was 1st puncture success rate and the secondary outcomes assessed were number of skin punctures, block performing time, and block success rate. RESULTS: Group U had a higher first puncture success rate (P = 0.001) than Group C (90.6% v/s 64.2%) and was statistically significant. The number of punctures were significantly less (P = 0.01) in Group U (1.09 ± 0.295) than Group C (1.45 ± 0.667). Block performing time was significantly higher (P = 0.0005) in Group U (53.19 ± 10.97 s) than Group C (30.34 ± 7.34 s). There was no difference in the overall block success rate between the groups (98.1% v/s 100%). CONCLUSION: Ultrasound-guided caudal injection increases the first puncture success rate and decreases the number of punctures required compared to conventional caudal block in pediatric infra-umbilical surgeries.

Comparison of Ropivacaine and Levobupivacaine in Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Blocks-A Double Blinded Randomized Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Brachial plexus anaesthesia has been an indispensable tool in the anaesthesiologist's armamentarium. Clinical studies have shown that levobupivacaine and ropivacaine have fewer adverse effects on the cardiovascular and central nervous system making them more advantageous in regional anaesthesia techniques. Less information is available regarding their comparable clinical data. Only a few studies have compared levobupivacaine and ropivacaine for brachial plexus blocks; hence, this study was aimed to compare the analgesic effectiveness and nerve block characteristics of ropivacaine and levobupivacaine in supraclavicular brachial plexus blocks in upper limb surgeries. METHODS: Patients with American Society of Anaesthesiologists physical status I or II coming for elective upper limb surgeries were included in the study. Total numbers of 62 patients were randomly allocated into two groups, group A and group B. Group A received 25mL of 0.75% ropivacaine, and group B received 25mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine. The duration of analgesia, onset of block, duration of sensory, and motor blockade were studied and compared. RESULTS: The mean duration of analgesia in group ropivacaine was 8.33 hours and in group levobupivacaine was 10.23 hours which was statistically significant. Ropivacaine had a faster sensory onset compared to levobupivacaine (5.22 vs. 6.88 minutes). The duration of sensory and motor blockade was longer with levobupivacaine than ropivacaine (sensory-8.64 vs. 10.29 hours, motor-8.32 vs. 9.8 hours). CONCLUSION: Levobupivacaine had longer duration of analgesia. The sensory and motor blockade was also longer with levobupivacaine.

Comparison of Analgesic Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Transversus Abdominus Plane Block and Caudal Block for Inguinal Hernia Repair in Pediatric Population: A Single-Blinded, Randomized Controlled Study.

BACKGROUND: Caudal analgesia was a widely practiced regional anesthesia technique in pediatric population. Transversus abdominus plane block (TAP) block has recently emerged as a promising analgesic method in pediatric lower abdominal surgeries. AIM: This study aimed to compare the analgesic efficacy of ultrasound-guided TAP block and caudal block. SETTING: This study was conducted in the department of anesthesiology of a tertiary care teaching hospital. DESIGN: This was a prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-two children of American Society of Anesthesiologists Class I and II undergoing inguinal hernia repair received TAP block at a dose of 0.5 ml.kg- 1 of 0.25% bupivacaine (Group A) or caudal block at a dose of 1 ml.kg- 1 of 0.25% bupivacaine (Group B) after randomization. The children were analyzed by comparing the post operative pain scores and duration of analgesia. Statistical analysis was done with IBM SPSS software 23 version. Unpaired sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to compare the means of continuous variables. Fisher's exact test/Chi-square test was used to find the association between categorical variables. RESULTS: Both groups were comparable in terms of age, gender, weight, and surgery duration. Duration of analgesia was longer in TAP block group compared to that of caudal analgesia (12.93 ± 2.91 h vs. 6.52 ± 1.67 P < 0.001). The postoperative pain scores were comparable up to 6 h and at 24 h. Pain scores at 12 h and 18 h were significantly higher in caudal analgesia group compared to that of TAP block group. CONCLUSION: Children who received TAP block had prolonged duration of analgesia and lower pain scores compared to those who received caudal analgesia.