A Comparative Study of Epidural Bupivacaine-Fentanyl and Bupivacaine-Clonidine for Post operative Pain Relief in Lower Abdominal Surgeries

Background: Abdominal surgery can lead to postoperative pain, organ dysfunctions and lengthy hospital stay due to different neurohumoral changes. If not controlled, postoperative pain may be damaging and costly for the patient, hence there is a need of appropriate therapy for pain management. Aim: To analyze efficacy and safety of 100 ?g clonidine and fentanyl as an adjuvant to 20 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine hydrochloride for postoperative pain. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was done on 90 patients belonging to American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) grade I or II, who were referred for major lower abdominal surgery. Patients were randomly divided into three groups (30 patients each) to receive: 2ml of normal saline (Group B) or 100 ?g of clonidine (Group BC) or100 ?g of fentanyl (Group BF) as an adjuvant to 20 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine hydrochloride. Postoperative pain was assessed over 8 h using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The frequency of rescue analgesia, sedation score along with events like nausea, vomiting, shivering or pruritus was also recorded. Results: Significantly less pain was noted in Group BC compared to Group BF (p