Efficacy of local wound infiltration analgesia with ropivacaine and dexmedetomidine in tubercular spine surgery – A pilot randomised double-blind controlled trial

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Regional analgesic techniques are difficult to use in tubercular spine patients due to distorted spinal anatomy and presence of infection. This study was conducted with the aim to evaluate analgesic efficacy of local wound infiltration before wound closure in tubercular spine patients. METHODS: This pilot randomised double-blind controlled study was conducted in 32 American Society of Anesthesiologists I-III patients, age ≥15 years, undergoing elective surgery for spinal tuberculosis. All the patients received general anaesthesia using standard technique and intravenous morphine for intraoperative analgesia. They received wound infiltration with either normal saline (group C) or local infiltration analgesia with 0.375% ropivacaine 3 mg/kg, adrenaline 5 μg/mL and dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg in a total volume of 0.8 mL/kg (group LIA) before wound closure. Patient-controlled analgesia using intravenous morphine provided postoperative analgesia. The primary objective was to study 24-h morphine consumption, whereas the secondary objectives included pain scores, complications and patient satisfaction. Repeated measures analysis of variance, Chi-square test and Mann–Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Morphine requirement was lower in group LIA (6.7 ± 2.7 mg) than in group C (27.7 ± 7.9 mg);P < 0.001. Group LIA also had lower pain scores (P < 0.001), longer time to rescue analgesic (P < 0.001), better patient satisfaction to pain relief (P = 0.001) and lower incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting than group C. CONCLUSION: Wound infiltration with ropivacaine, adrenaline and dexmedetomidine before wound closure provided good postoperative analgesia with lower morphine requirement.