The effects of adding epinephrine to ropivacaine for popliteal nerve block on the duration of postoperative analgesia: a randomized controlled trial

BMC Anesthesiology

Karin P.W. Schoenmakers³  Maaike G.E. Fenten²  Jan Willem Louwerens¹  Gert Jan Scheffer³  Rudolf Stienstra² 

[1] Orthopaedic Surgery Sint Maartenskliniek, Nijmegen, 6500 GM, The Netherlands

[2] Department of Anaesthesiology, Nijmegen, 6500 GM, The Netherlands

[3] Department of Anaesthesiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

关键词: Postoperative analgesia;    Local anesthetic adjuncts;    Peripheral nerve block;   

Others  :  1218606
DOI  :  10.1186/s12871-015-0083-z

 received in 2015-04-07, accepted in 2015-07-02,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Duration of peripheral nerve blocks depends on multiple factors. Both technique and type of local anesthetic used, either with or without adjuncts, may result in different duration times of the block. The purpose of the present study was to compare the duration of postoperative analgesia of 30 mL ropivacaine 0.75 % with or without epinephrine for popliteal sciatic nerve block.

Methods

Thirty-eight patients were included to receive ultrasound guided continuous popliteal nerve block with ropivacaine 0.75 % either without (ROPI) or with epinephrine 5 μg/mL (ROPI-EPI) for ankle fusion, subtalar fusion, or a combination of both. The primary outcome parameter was the duration of postoperative analgesia as reflected by the time to first request for postoperative analgesia (TTFR) through the popliteal nerve catheter. Secondary outcome measures included the onset of sensory and motor block and NRS score for pain at rest and during movement.

Results

Thirty patients, 15 in each group, were studied. Eight patients were withdrawn because of specific withdrawal criteria described in the protocol and replaced according to their group allocation. Median [interquartile range] TTFR was 463 [300–1197] min and 830 [397–1128] min for the ROPI vs ROPI-EPI group respectively. Hodges Lehman median difference between groups was 71 min (95 % CI −415 – 473 min). There was no difference in any clinical outcome measure between the groups.

Conclusion

The results of this study did not show any significant increase in the duration of postoperative analgesia by adding epinephrine to ropivacaine for popliteal nerve block. This may be due to the intrinsic vasoconstrictive properties of ropivacaine. The absence of a significant difference can also be the result of a type II error caused by a large variation in the individual TTFR.

Trial registration

Trial register.nl identifier: NTR3330, keyword TTFR

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Schoenmakers et al.

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1.

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