WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Dr. Rahul T. N.* and Dr. Pradip Swami

ABSTRACT

Background: Compared to previous methods, supraclavicular brachial plexus block offers quicker onset and more reliable regional anaesthesia. We predicted that adding clonidine to ropivacaine in an ultrasound-guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block would improve the analgesia's quality and lengthen the time it lasted after surgery for patients having upper limb procedures. Methods: This study included 58 patients posted for upper limb surgeries who were randomly allocated into 2 groups of 29 each. Group R patients were given 19.8 ml of 0.75% ropivacaine + 0.2 ml normal saline and Group RC were given 19.8 ml of 0.75% ropivacaine with 0.2ml (30 μg) clonidine. Wilcoxon rank sum test, Pearson?s Chi-squared test, ANOVA, were applied to find significance. Results: There is no statistically significant difference in onset of sensorimotor block between Group RC (5.93 ± 2.14 min for sensory block and 11.45 ± 3.80 min for motor block) and Group R (6.41 ± 5.57 min for sensory block and 12.72 ± 8.15 min for motor block). Both sensory and motor block duration were significantly prolonged by clonidine (P < 0.001). The duration of analgesia was also prolonged in Group RC 749.97 ± 82.22 min as compared to Group R 486.28 ± 90.69 min (P < 0.001). None of the patients in either group observed any adverse effects. Conclusion: When clonidine is used with ropivacaine for supraclavicular brachial plexus block, postoperative analgesia and sensory and motor blockade occur more quickly and last longer without any discernible side effects.

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