Epidural Dexamethasone for Postoperative Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Unilateral Inguinal Herniorrhaphy: A Comparative Study.

. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of adding dexamethasone to epidural bupivacaine on postoperative analgesia in unilateral inguinal herniorrhaphy. . Forty-four patients were enrolled in this double-blind, clinical trial study. Patients were randomly allocated into dexamethasone or control group. In the dexamethasone group, patients received 18 ml of bupivacaine 0.5% and 2 ml (8 mg) of dexamethasone; in the control group, patients received 18 ml of bupivacaine 0.5% and 2 ml of normal saline. The onset of sensory block and its duration and incidence of nausea and vomiting were recorded. . The onset of epidural anesthesia was significantly more rapid in the dexamethasone group than in the control group ( < 0.001). Duration of analgesia was markedly prolonged in the dexamethasone group than in the control group ( < 0.001). Five patients (22.7%) in the control group had nausea in the first hour after the procedure ( = 0.048). None of the patients in the dexamethasone group had nausea. None of our patients had vomiting in the two groups. . This study showed that adding dexamethasone to bupivacaine significantly prolongs the duration of postoperative analgesia. This trial is registered with Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) number IRCT2012062910137N1.