Abstract

Dr. Rubal Singhal*, Dr. Anurag Agarwal, Dr. Apurva Agarwal, Dr. Chandrashekhar Singh,
Dr Sachin Kumar, Dr. Veena Arora and Dr. Shaily Agarwal

ABSTRACT

Context: Brachial plexus block provides post-operative analgesia in addition to intra Operative anaesthesia without any systemic side effects. Ropivacaine is a Local Anaesthetic belonging to amino amide group. Clonidine is a selective alpha – 2 Adrenergic agonist. It acts as an adjuvant to Local Anaesthetics for regional anaesthesia. Aims: To evaluate the effect of Clonidine as an adjuvant to local anaesthetic Ropivacaine on onset as well as duration of sensory & motor blockade and quality of analgesia. Methods and Material: 60 adult patients falling in age group of 20 to 60 years undergoing upper limb surgery under supraclavicular brachial plexus blockade using peripheral nerve stimulator were included in the study. These patients were randomly allocated to two groups, each group with 30 patients. Group1: 25 ml 0.75% Ropivacaine + 2 ml normal saline. Group2: 25 ml 0.75% Ropivacaine mixed with Clonidine at dose of 1 mcg/kg which had been diluted to 2 ml with normal saline. Vitals, Sensory and motor blockade and VAS scores were recorded. Results were analyzed using Unpaired Student t- test. Results: Onset of sensory and motor block was significantly earlier and duration of analgesia and motor blockade was prolonged with lower VAS Scores in group 2. Conclusions: Addition of Clonidine to Local Anaesthetic leads to faster onset, prolonged duration of both sensory and motor block and better postoperative analgesia following supraclavicular brachial plexus block.