Publication:

Comparative study between bupivacaine plus fentanyl and bupivacaine plus dexmedetomidine for epidural caudal analgesia in pediatric patients: a double blind randomized controlled trial

Background For postoperative pain following juvenile infraumbilical procedures, caudal epidural analgesia is frequently utilized. Analgesia is improved when bupivacaine is combined with adjuvants. In this study, the adjuvants fentanyl and dexmedetomidine are compared.

Methods In this prospective, randomized, double-blind trial, sixty ASA I–II children (ages 1–8) were split into two groups: Bupivacaine and dexmedetomidine were administered to group BD, and bupivacaine and fentanyl were administered caudally to group BF. Every two hours for the duration of the day, pain was measured using the FLACC score. Rescue analgesia was given when FLACC≥4. Hemodynamic parameters and adverse consequences were observed.

Results The groups' demographic characteristics were similar. After four hours, group BD's FLACC ratings were considerably lower than group BF's and group BD required rescue analgesia at a considerably lower rate than Group BF

Conclusions Dexmedetomidine provides greater and longer-lasting postoperative analgesia with fewer rescue analgesic doses and less side effects than fentanyl in pediatric patients.