Comparative study of two combinations of ropivacaine and fentanyl for postoperative pain relief after umblical and lower abdominal surgeries

Dr. Nidhi Asati; Dr Amit Jain; Dr Nitish Nayak; Dr K K Arora

Volume : VII, Issue : II, February - 2018

Comparative study of two combinations of ropivacaine and fentanyl for postoperative pain relief after umblical and lower abdominal surgeries

Dr. Nidhi Asati, Dr Amit Jain, Dr Nitish Nayak, Dr K K Arora

Abstract :

Objectives: Ropivacaine has been used, either alone or with local anesthetics, for epidural analgesia. This study was undertaken to compare quality and safety of two combinations of epidural ropivacaine with fentanyl for providing postoperative analgesia for 48 hours after umblical and lower abdominal surgeries .

Methodology: In a prospective randomized, controlled study, 70 patients age group between 20-60 years, of either gender, scheduled for routine umblical and lower abdominal surgeries were randomly distributed into two groups of 35 patients each. Postoperatively, two combinations of ropivacaine and fentanyl[group 1 ropivacaine .2% and fentanyl 4 �g and group 2 ropivacaine .1% and fentanyl 2 �g ] for postoperative pain relief, diluted in 10 ml of normal saline was injected in the epidural space (between L₂–L₃space) through the catheter and then repeated 6 hourly. Pain intensity score, onset of analgesia,number of top-ups required andoverall patient satisfaction score were recorded.

Results: Mean onset of analgesia was 10.31 � 1.5 min with group 1 as against 11.23 � 1.2 min with group 2 . Pain Intensity (PPI) score ≤ 1 was observed in 68.21% observations belonging to group 1 and in 60 % observations belonging to group 2. Twenty five patients (71.4%) from group 1 and 30 patients (85.7%) from f group 2 required rescue analgesia. The patient�s feedback on pain relief was graded as very good or good by 78.5% of the patients in Group-1 and 69% patients in Group-2.

Conclusion: Though both drug combinations are equally safe, group 1 concentration is faster acting, more potent and efficient analgesic than group 2 when used for postoperative pain relief in umblical and lower abdominal surgeries.Howevermotor power was better preserved in group 2