The Comparative Study of Epidural Anesthesia between Isobaric Ropivacaine 0.5% and Isobaric Bupivacaine 0.5% for Lower Abdominal Surgery

AIM: The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of ropivacaine (0.5%) and bupivacaine (0.5%) in epidural neuraxial blockade for elective lower abdominal surgeries. METHODS: The present study was conducted in sixty patients undergoing elective lower abdominal surgeries under epidural anesthesia who were included after satisfying the eligibility criteria. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. An epidural catheter was inserted in cephalad direction using Tuohy epidural needle at L(2)–L(3) or L(3)–L(4) with the help of loss of resistance to air technique. Twenty milliliter of the study drug was given, sensory blockade was tested using the pinprick method, and quality of motor blockade was assessed by the modified Bromage scale. RESULTS: In our study, demographic data comparing age and sex show no statistically significant difference among both the groups. In our study, the mean time for the onset of sensory block consider at T(10) in Group B was 10.05 ± 2.1 min and in Group R was 9.8 ± 1.8 min. Moreover, the mean time duration of sensory block in Group B was 5.56 ± 0.059 h and in Group R was 5.34 ± 0.073 h. The onset of motor block in Group B was 4.98 ± 1.07 min and in Group R was 5.28 ± 1.2 min, but the duration of motor block for Group B was 4.63 ± 0.39 h and for Group R was 3.53 ± 0.23 h, which is clinically and statistically significant. The maximum level of sensory blockade for Group B was T(4) and for Group R was T(5). The range of block in Group B was T(10)–T(4) and in Group R was T(10)–T(35). CONCLUSION: The onset of sensory block was comparable in both the group, but the duration of sensory block is shorter with ropivacaine compared to bupivacaine. The onset of motor blockade was comparable in both the groups, but the duration of motor blockade was also shorter and the degree of motor block was less intense with ropivacaine compared to bupivacaine.