A comparative study of isobaric levobupivacaine 0.5% versus isobaric levobupivacaine 0.5% with 3mcg dexmeditomidine in spinal anaesthesia

Intrathecal α2 agonists prolong the duration of action of local anesthetics and reduce the required dose. Dexmedetomidine is an α2 receptor agonist and its α2/α1 selectivity is 8 times higher than that of clonidine. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of adding dexmedetomidine to intrathecal Isobaric levobupivacaine 0.5% on the onset time and duration of motor and sensory blocks. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups. Group L (n= 30) patients received 3 mL (15 mg) of 0.5% levobupivacaine +0.3 mL normal saline and Group LD (n= 30) patients received 3 mL (15 mg) of 0.5% levobupivacaine + 0.3 mL (3 μg) dexmedetomidine. Sensory block onset time, block reaching time to T10 dermatome, the most elevated dermatome level, two dermatome regression time, sensory block complete regression time as well as motor block onset time, reaching Bromage 3 and regressing to Bromage 0 were recorded. Sensory and motor block onset times were shorter in Group LD than in Group L (p