A randomized controlled double-blinded prospective study of the efficacy of clonidine added to bupivacaine as compared with bupivacaine alone used in supraclavicular brachial plexus block for upper limb surgeries

We compared the effects of clonidine added to bupivacaine with bupivacaine alone on supraclavicular brachial plexus block and observed the side-effects of both the groups. In this prospective, randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial, two groups of 25 patients each were investigated using (i) 40 ml of bupivacaine 0.25% plus 0.150 mg of clonidine and (ii) 40 ml of bupivacaine 0.25% plus 1 ml of NaCl 0.9, respectively. The onset of motor and sensory block and duration of sensory block were recorded along with monitoring of heart rate, non-invasive blood pressure, oxygen saturation and sedation. It was observed that addition of clonidine to bupivacaine resulted in faster onset of sensory block, longer duration of analgesia (as assessed by visual analogue score), prolongation of the motor block (as assessed by modified Lovett Rating Scale), prolongation of the duration of recovery of sensation and no association with any haemodynamic changes (heart rate and blood pressure), sedation or any other adverse effects. These findings suggest that clonidine added to bupivacaine is an attractive option for improving the quality and duration of supraclavicular brachial plexus block in upper limb surgeries.