ABSTRACT

Aim: To compare the mean duration of post-operative analgesia in low versus high dose dexamethasone as an adjuvant to bupivacaine applied in interscelene block for shoulder surgery.

Methods: This Randomized control trial was done at the Department of Anesthesia & ICU, Jinnah Hospital Lahore for 6 months. 100 patients were scheduled for minor to moderate elective shoulder surgeries under interscelene block using 0.25% bupivacaine. They were allocated into two groups i.e. high dose (Group A) and low dose (Group B) dexamethasone as an adjuvant perineurially, with 0.25% bupivacaine in each group, based on random number tables. Mean duration of pain was assessed.

Results: One hundred (100) patients were included with mean age of 53.19 ± 7.018 ranged from 32 to 60 years of age. Mean duration of pain among our sampled population was 6.14 ± 1.639, ranged from 4 to 10. When we cross tabulated dexamethasone groups with duration of pain results came up non-significant on applying independent sample test (p=0.396) with mean of 6.00± 1.71hours in low dose and 6.28±1.57hoursin high dose. There was no effect of age, gender, smoking on this outcome difference.

Conclusion: It is concluded that there was no difference in mean duration of post-operative analgesia in low versus high dose dexamethasone as adjuvant to bupivacaine in interscelene block at current sample size.

Keywords: Post-operative analgesia, Dexamethasone, Bupivacaine, upper limb surgeries, Interscelene block