Kumari Puja, Kumar Mukesh, Sinha Nitesh, Kumar Vishwanath, Singh Dipali
Anesthesiology, Shaheed Nirmal Mahato Medical College and Hospital (SNMMCH), Dhanbad, IND.
Anesthesiology, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, IND.
Cureus. 2025 Jul 2;17(7):e87155. doi: 10.7759/cureus.87155. eCollection 2025 Jul.
Background and aim Ropivacaine, at lower concentrations, has been shown to provide effective postoperative analgesia. The addition of adjuvants enhances its analgesic efficacy without significantly increasing the risk of motor blockade. The study aimed to evaluate the analgesic adjuvant properties of epidural dexmedetomidine (1 µg/mL) and epidural fentanyl (2 µg/mL) when administered with 0.125% ropivacaine via a patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) pump in patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH). Methods A total of 60 patients scheduled for elective TAH were randomized into two groups in this prospective trial. Thirty patients were allocated to the ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine group (Group RD), and 30 patients were enrolled in the ropivacaine with fentanyl group (Group RF). Group RD received 0.125% ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine (1 µg/mL) as the study drug, whereas Group RF received 0.125% ropivacaine with fentanyl (2 µg/mL). Patients were administered general anesthesia after placement of a lumbar epidural catheter at the L3-L4 interspace, advanced 3-5 cm into the epidural space. One hour after skin incision, the study drugs were continuously infused through the epidural catheter using a syringe pump at a rate of 7 mL/hour. Following completion of surgery and extubation, PCEA pumps were connected to the epidural catheter, delivering a background infusion of 5 mL/hour, a bolus dose of 2 mL, and a lockout interval of 10 minutes. The background infusion was continued for 24 hours. Rescue analgesia with fentanyl (0.5 µg/kg) was planned if the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score remained above three despite reaching the maximum permissible PCEA dose of 10 mL/hour. Postoperatively, patients undergoing TAH were monitored for total study drug consumption via the epidural route through PCEA, postoperative pain intensity (measured using VAS), the number of self-administered bolus doses via the PCEA pump, need for rescue analgesics, hemodynamic parameters, and other adverse effects. Results VAS pain scores were found to be statistically significant between the two groups at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 hours postoperatively, with p-values of 0.034, 0.002, 0.004, 0.001, 0.005, and 0.023, respectively. The total drug consumption during and after surgery was 138.47 ± 2.67 mL for the RD group and 144.53 ± 4.19 mL for the RF group, with a p-value of 0.0001, indicating a highly significant difference. The average total number of bolus doses in 24 hours was 3.067 ± 1.23 in Group RD and 5.267 ± 2.09 in Group RF, with a p-value of 0.0001. Rescue analgesia was not required in either group, and no motor blockade was observed in any patient. Hemodynamic parameters were comparable between groups and did not show any significant changes. Conclusions The analgesic adjuvant properties of dexmedetomidine (1 µg/mL) were superior to those of fentanyl (2 µg/mL) when used with 0.125% ropivacaine. However, neither group required rescue analgesia, suggesting that both agents can be effectively used for TAH.
背景与目的 较低浓度的罗哌卡因已被证明可提供有效的术后镇痛。添加佐剂可增强其镇痛效果,而不会显著增加运动阻滞的风险。本研究旨在评估在接受全腹子宫切除术(TAH)的患者中,通过患者自控硬膜外镇痛(PCEA)泵给予0.125%罗哌卡因时,硬膜外右美托咪定(1μg/mL)和硬膜外芬太尼(2μg/mL)的镇痛佐剂特性。方法 在这项前瞻性试验中,共有60例计划进行择期TAH的患者被随机分为两组。30例患者被分配至罗哌卡因联合右美托咪定组(RD组),30例患者被纳入罗哌卡因联合芬太尼组(RF组)。RD组接受0.125%罗哌卡因联合右美托咪定(1μg/mL)作为研究药物,而RF组接受0.125%罗哌卡因联合芬太尼(2μg/mL)。在L3-L4间隙置入腰段硬膜外导管并向硬膜外腔推进3-5 cm后,患者接受全身麻醉。皮肤切开后1小时,使用注射泵以7 mL/小时的速率通过硬膜外导管持续输注研究药物。手术结束并拔管后,将PCEA泵连接至硬膜外导管,背景输注速率为5 mL/小时,单次推注剂量为2 mL,锁定时间间隔为10分钟。背景输注持续24小时。如果视觉模拟评分(VAS)尽管达到PCEA最大允许剂量10 mL/小时仍保持在3分以上,则计划使用芬太尼(0.5μg/kg)进行补救镇痛。术后,通过PCEA监测接受TAH的患者经硬膜外途径的总研究药物消耗量、术后疼痛强度(使用VAS测量)、通过PCEA泵自行给药的单次推注剂量次数、补救镇痛药的需求、血流动力学参数及其他不良反应。结果 术后4、8、12、16、20和24小时,两组间VAS疼痛评分具有统计学意义,p值分别为0.034、0.002、0.004、0.001、0.005和0.023。RD组手术期间及术后的总药物消耗量为138.47±2.67 mL,RF组为144.53±4.19 mL,p值为0.0001,表明差异具有高度统计学意义。RD组24小时内单次推注剂量的平均总数为3.067±1.23,RF组为5.267±2.09,p值为0.0001。两组均无需补救镇痛,且未观察到任何患者出现运动阻滞。两组间血流动力学参数具有可比性,未显示任何显著变化。结论 与0.125%罗哌卡因联合使用时,右美托咪定(1μg/mL)的镇痛佐剂特性优于芬太尼(2μg/mL)。然而,两组均无需补救镇痛,表明两种药物均可有效地用于TAH。