Analgesic Effect of Intrathecal Fentanyl vs Dexmedetomidine as Adjuvants to Bupivacaine Following Abdominal Surgery for Cancer in Children, a Randomized Trial

Background Intrathecal fentanyl in spinal anesthesia improves intra- and postoperative analgesia. Dexmedetomidine is a fascinating adjuvant with regards to neuraxial anesthesia in children experiencing surgery for abdominal malignancy. Patients and Methods After endorsement by the institutional reviewing board (IRB) and guardians’ written informed consent, this research was carried out on 60 pediatric malignancy patients scheduled for major abdominal surgery. Children were randomly distributed into three groups (20 patients each): Group C: given 2 mL of bupivacaine 0.5% (0.4 mg/kg) intrathecally, injected gradually over 20 seconds. Group F: the same as group C, plus fentanyl 0.2 μg/kg. Group D: the same as group C, plus dexmedetomidine 0.2 μg/kg. Pain at zero, two, four, six, 12, 18, and 24 hours postoperatively was evaluated by Face, Legs, Activity, Crying, and Consolability (FLACC) score. First analgesic request and postoperative unfavorable effects were recorded for 24 hours postoperatively. Results A significant decrease was recognized in the mean FLACC score in groups D and F at six, eight, and 12 hours postoperatively, in contrast to group C (P ≤ 0.05). First analgesic request was significantly prolonged in group D (7.67 ± 0.57 hours), in contrast to groups F and C (5.40 ± 1.09 hours and 4.23 ± 3.27 hours, respectively, P < 0.04). Paracetamol utilization was significantly decreased in group D (316.67 ± 28.86 mg), in contrast to group C (391.00 ± 52.00 mg, P < 0.03), without a significant difference between group F (354.44 ± 46.67 mg) and groups D and C (P > 0.05). Conclusions Adding dexmedetomidine and fentanyl to intrathecal bupivacaine improved postoperative analgesia following abdominal surgery for cancer in children, with better overall analgesia of dexmedetomidine compared with fentanyl.