Effectiveness of pre-emptive nerve block on opioid consumption in patients undergoing nasal surgery under general anaesthesia: A double-blinded randomised controlled study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The efficacy of bilateral nasociliary and maxillary nerve blocks combined with general anaesthesia on intraoperative opioids consumption, emergence and recovery outcomes in adult patients is not well established. We conducted this study to test the hypothesis that the above blocks, combined with general anaesthesia, decrease the intraoperative opioid consumption following nasal surgery. METHODS: In this prospective, double-blinded, randomised controlled study, 51 adult patients undergoing elective nasal surgery under general anaesthesia were randomised into one of two groups. Group A (n = 26) received bilateral nasociliary and maxillary nerve blocks with 12 mL of equal volumes of 0.5% bupivacaine and 2% lignocaine after induction of general anaesthesia. Group B (n = 25) did not receive any block (control group). The primary endpoint was the total intraoperative dose of fentanyl consumed. The secondary endpoints were the grade of cough, emergence agitation, the grade of post-operative nausea and vomiting, time to the first analgesia and time to post-anaesthesia care unit discharge. RESULTS: The mean total intraoperative fentanyl dose (μg) was significantly lower in group A than in group B (2.31 ± 11.76 vs. 41.20 ± 31.00, P = 0.00). The incidence of emergence agitation was lower in group A than group B (11.5% vs. 88%, P = 0.00). The time to the first analgesia was significantly longer in group A than group B (543.27 vs. 199.84 min, P = 0.017). CONCLUSION: The pre-emptive administration of bilateral nasociliary and maxillary nerve block for nasal surgery is an effective technique for reducing the intraoperative dose of fentanyl and emergence agitation.