Levobupivacaine & Ropivacaine for Epidural Analgesia in Lower Limb Surgery

Background: Post-operative pain is a major concern for patients undergoing surgery.The fear of pain keeps on preying on their minds leading to various stress related dysfunctions.The present study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of Levobupivacaine & Ropivacaine in preventing post-operative pain in patients undergoing lower limb surgery.Patients and Methods: 60 ASA I and II patients undergoing lower limb surgery were randomly assigned to two groups of thirty patients each, receiving either 50mg Tramadol with 20mg Ropivacaine (Group A) or 50mg Tramadol with15mg Levobupivacaine (Group B) epidurally.Total volume injected was 10ml in each case.Epidural top-ups were given every 8 hourly for post-operative analgesia till 48 hrs after surgery.VAS was used to assess analgesia.Results: Demographic data and baseline parameters were comparable in both the groups.Analgesia, as measured by the VAS score was comparable in the two groups.Hypotension was seen more in Group B. Other side-effects were similar in both the groups.Conclusion: Levobupivacaine or Ropivacaine combined with Tramadol provide good analgesia in lower limb surgery without significant side-effects.