DOI: 10.21276/sajp

Pages: 273-280

Many adjuvants have been used with local anaesthetics to reduce the time of onset and prolong the duration of analgesia in brachial plexus blocks. Very few studies are there comparing dexmedetomidine versus clonidine as adjuvant. This study was done to compare the effects of dexmedetomidine and clonidine as adjuvant to local anaesthetics in supraclavicular block. In this double blinded clinical trial, 90 ASA classes I and II patients posted to undergo upper extremity surgery were divided into 3 different groups randomly. Group C patients received 35 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine and Clonidine (1 mcg/kg), Group D patients received 35 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine and Dexmedetomidine (1 mcg/kg), while group B received 35 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine only in supraclavicular brachial plexus block. Time of request for 1st rescue analgesia, onset and duration of sensory motor blocks and changes in hemodynamic parameters were studied and analyzed. Time for request for rescue analgesia was delayed in group D compared to group B and C. The mean of sensory and motor block onset time in group D was less than in group B and C, the difference between the two group being statistically significant(p<0.001).In group D mean duration of sensory block was prolonged compared to group B and C, which was statistically significant(p<0.001). The addition of dexmedetomidine as adjuvant to bupivacaine in brachial plexus blockade delayed the requirement of rescue analgesia with decreased onset time and prolonged duration of sensory and motor block characteristics compared to clonidine