Efficacy of dexmedetomidine as intrathecal adjuvant in subarachnoid block and postoperative analgesia

Introduction: Various adjuvants have been used intrathecally to improve the quality and duration of the spinal anaesthesia along with better postoperative analgesia We studied the effect of dexmedetomidine as intrathecal adjuvant to local anaesthetic agent in subarachnoid block. The primary goal was to study the onset and duration of sensory and motor block. The secondary goal was to note the time for first rescue analgesic, total requirement of rescue analgesic, quality of block and any complications. Materials and Method: Sixty patients age 18 to 60 years, ASA I-II , posted for lower limb orthopaedic surgeries were  randomly allocated  into two equal groups based on computer generated randomization: Group B: Inj.Bupivacaine 0.5% hyperbaric 3ml(15mg) + 0.15cc normal saline. Group D: Inj.Bupivacaine 0.5% hyperbaric 3ml(15mg) + Inj.Dexmedetomidine 15µg(0.15ml). All the patients were observed for onset of sensory and motor block, two segment regression time, total sensory and motor block duration, time to first rescue analgesic, total number of doses of rescue analgesia in 24 hours postoperatively and side effects if any. Results: The demographic variables were comparable in the two groups. The onset of sensory block was faster in group B (p=0.002) with no significant difference in the onset of motor block in two groups. The duration of sensory and motor block in Group D was significantly prolonged (p