Combined spinal epidural anaesthesia versus epidural anaesthesia: a comparative study

Background: Regional anaesthesia are widely utilized in surgical gynaecology practice. The Com­bined Spinal Epidural Anaesthesia (CSEA) technique and Continuous epidural anaesthesia both have been extensively used in elective gynaecological surgeries. This prospective cross-sectional comparative study was designed to compare the quality of anaesthesia between CSEA and Epi­dural anaesthesia. Methods: Sixty-four patients between age group 15- 65 years of ASA grade I, II were randomly di­vided into 2 groups. Group A patients received CSEA using “double needle double interspace tech­nique” and were given 2.5 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine for spinal block. Group B patients received epidural block with catheter using 10 ml of 0.5% plain bupivacaine. In all patients, subse­quent dosage of 2 ml per unblocked segment 0.5% plain bupivacaine was administered through the epidural catheter to achieve a block up to T4-5. Mean was calculated using t-test, median with Mann Whitney U test and Chi-square test where appropriate and the Statistical Analysis was done using SPSS program, version 11.0. Results: The surgical anaesthesia and motor blockade occurred significantly early in CSEA group. Duration of analgesia was significantly shorter in CSEA (84.1±40.6 min) as compared to epidural group (138.6±32.9 min). The total amount of bupivacaine required to attain the same target level was two times in epidural group (p<0.05). Haemodynamic changes were comparable in both the groups. No neurological side effects were observed. Conclusions: Sequential CSEA is superior alternative to epidural block, which combines the advan­tages of spinal and epidural while minimizing their drawbacks in elective gynaecological surgeries.