A Comparison Between Intrathecal Levobupivacaine and Bupivacaine for Quality and Safety During Infraumbilical Surgeries

Background Levobupivacaine toxicity reports are rare, and when they do occur, toxic symptoms are frequently treatable with minimal morbidity and mortality. However, levobupivacaine has not entirely replaced bupivacaine in clinical practice. Moreover, the experience of intrathecal anesthesia with levobupivacaine is not well documented. Hence, the purpose of this study is to assess the quality and duration of sensory and motor blockade of levobupivacaine and its side effects, if any, compared to intrathecal bupivacaine during infraumbilical surgeries. Methods After approval by the Institutional Ethical Committee of Kurunji Venkatramana Gowda (KVG) Medical College and Hospital, Sullia, 90 patients aged between 18 and 65 years, of either sex, who were scheduled for elective abdominoperineal, urological, or lower limb surgeries under intrathecal anesthesia were enrolled in this prospective study from January 2013 to June 2014. The selected patients were randomly assigned to three groups of 30 each: group HB (3 mL of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine), group IB (3 mL of 0.5% isobaric bupivacaine), and group IL (3 mL of 0.5% isobaric levobupivacaine). Motor blockade was assessed using the modified Bromage scale. Intergroup comparison was done using Tukey’s post hoc test. The incidence of adverse effects was analyzed using a chi-squared test. Significance was defined as P<0.05. Results In our study, the mean age of patients in the three groups was comparable (P>0.05), i.e., group IB was 39.23±11.78 years, group HB was 43.63±11.33 years, and group IL was 39.8±12.07 years. The time of onset of sensory block was 6.57±1.794 minutes in group IB, 2.30±1.343 minutes in group HB, and 4.57±1.960 minutes in group IL, and this variation was statistically highly significant (P<0.001). A total of 15 patients suffered hypotension intraoperatively, of which eight belonged to group HB, four to group IB, and the rest to group IL. Intraoperative or postoperative nausea/vomiting was seen in five patients in group IB, two patients in group HB, and one patient in group IL. In the postoperative period, the mean heart rate (HR) was 77.47±4.88/minute in group IB, 68.78±7.88/minute in group HB, and 72.15±8.83/minute in group IL. The data was statistically highly significant (P<0.001). Conclusion Our study revealed that 15 mg of isobaric levobupivacaine (3 mL of 0.5%), the new racemic isomer of bupivacaine, was intermediate in its anesthetic properties when compared to isobaric bupivacaine and hyperbaric bupivacaine. The onset of sensory and motor blockade is slower than hyperbaric bupivacaine but faster than isobaric bupivacaine with a higher level of maximum sensory block.