International Journal of Medical Sciences and Nursing Research

Abstract

Background: Over recent years, there are lots of advancements in providing adequate postoperative analgesia for pediatric patients who are undergoing infra-umbilical surgeries. Of which, the caudal block is a type of neuraxial block that is simple, easy to administer with more reliability, thus providing a very effective pain–free period. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of Ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine and dexamethasone in pediatric circumcision surgeries. Materials and Methods: The prospective, randomized, double-blinded study included 60 children (30 children in each group, assigned by computer-generated randomization code). In Group I: 0.25% Ropivacaine 0.5 ml/kg + Dexmedetomidine 1mcg/kg. Group II: 0.25% Ropivacaine 0.5 ml/kg + Dexamethasone 0.1 mg/kg. Results: FLACC score was used to assess the postoperative analgesia. The mean duration of postoperative analgesia was 478.04±61.22min in the Dexmedetomidine group and 530.07±134.04 min in the Dexamethasone group which was statistically significant. The sedation score was better with Dexmedetomidine Group compared to Group Dexamethasone. Conclusion: Our study proved that caudal administration of 0.25% Ropivacaine with Dexamethasone (0.1 mg/kg) resulted in a longer duration (530.07 minutes) of action compared with 0.25% Ropivacaine with Dexmedetomidine (1 mcg/ kg) and the sedation was better with Dexmedetomidine when compared to dexamethasone, without any other significant differences in the hemodynamic parameters and the incidence of adverse events. Keywords: Caudal, Analgesia, Postoperative, Ropivacaine, Dexamethasone, Dexmedetomidine