COMPARISON OF INTRATHECAL BUPRENORPHINE VERSUS CLONIDINE AS AN ADJUVANT TO 0.5% HYPERBARIC BUPIVACAINE IN LOWER ABDOMINAL SURGERIES

Present study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of intrathecal clonidine or buprenorphine with bupivacaine in lower abdominal surgeries. Methods: 90 ASA I and II patients undergoing lower abdominal surgeries were randomly allocated into three groups(n=30). Group A received 3ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine with 1ml normal saline, GroupB received 3ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine with 60 mcg buprenorphine(1:5 dilution) and Group C received 3ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine with 30mcg clonidine (1:5 dilution) respectively (Total volume 4ml). Onset time and duration of sensory and motor block, duration of analgesia, hemodynamics, VAS score, sedation score and side effect were compared. Results: The duration of analgesia was significantly longest in GroupC (354.50±38.48min), followed by Group B (277.10±25.47min) and Group A(131.50±20.15min) (p<0.001) Conclusion: Clonidine (30mcg) and buprenorphine (60mcg) when used as adjuvants to 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine intrathecally produces significantly longer duration and better quality of postoperative analgesia than bupivacaine alone. Keywords: clonidine, buprenorphine, intrathecal, postoperative analgesia.