Comparison of ropivacaine and lidocaine in their use as field block anaethesia during and after inguinal hermia repair

Abstract

Objective To compare the anesthesia and analgesic effect of ropivacaine to lidocaine during and after inguinal hernia repair field.Methods The study was designed as a single-centre,double blind,controlled trial,randomized with two parallel groups.One hundred males scheduled for inguinal hernia repair as day surgery under field block would be eligible to participate and then be randomized to receive field block using 0.75% ropivacaine 30 mL or 1%lidoeaine 40 mL.During the first 24 hours after the start of infiltration,assessments of the time from study drus administration to the first request of additional analgesics,wound pain at rest and on mobilization using NRS,as well as an evaluation of patients'ability to perform day-to-day activities were made.Wound healing would be judged by the assessor as normal or abnormal on day 7 after surgery.Results Median time from study drug administration to the first request of additional analgesics waft,22.4 hours in ropivaeaine group and 15.1 hours in lidocaine group respectively.Although there was no statistically significant treatment difference between groups(P>0.05),clinically relevant differences could be seen in favour of ropivacaine.The HRs(hazard rato) for this variable using Cox regression model showed a tendency favoring ropivacaine in increasing the time from study drug administration to the first request of additional analgesics when comparing ropivacaine group and lidocaine group,with an HR of 0.888(95%CI:0.521-1.514;P>0.05),corresponding to a risk reduction of 11.2%.Postoperative wound pain scores at rest at 2nd hour was lower in ropivacaine group than lidocaine group(P<0.05).Pestoperative wound pain scores upon mobilization in 4th hour and the total scores of day-to-day activity questionnaire in 4th hour were lower in ropivacaine group than that of lidocaine group(P<0.05).No any adverse effects were found in the two groups,and wound healing was normal in all patients in the two groups 7 days after surgery.Conclusion Ropivacaine provides effective peroperative anesthesia and postoperative pain relief for inguinal hernia repair in Chjnese patients. Key words: Ropivacaine; Field block; Inguinal hernia