Correlation of axial length with minimal effective volume of peribulbar block

Abstract

Cataract remains the most common cause of blindness worldwide and surgery is the only option to get rid of a cataract. Good anaesthesia is an essential requirement for performing safe cataract surgery. Peribulbar block using regional anaesthetic is the most common technique of administrating anaesthesia for cataract extraction. The study aimed to know the relationship between the axial length and the minimal effective volume of the peribulbar block. The study was done in a hospital based in the rural area of Panipat. It was a cross-sectional study done on patients who underwent cataract surgery and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. The patients were divided into two groups based on axial length and were given peribulbar block using 2% lignocaine with 1500 IU of hyaluronidase of 6 ml and 8 ml. The subsequent doses of the block were given in those in which adequate response was not present. The study includes 100 patients divided into two groups. The patients in group 1 had axial lengths between 21-23.99 mm and the second group included patients with axial lengths of 24-26.99 mm. In group 1 the volume of peribulbar block given was higher than that in group 2. The maximum number of patients in group 1 (34) were given an 8 ml block and those in group 2 were given a 6 ml of block. The study had a p-value of 0.02. In our study, we found that axial length has a negative correlation with the volume of the peribulbar block. It was also seen that there was an increase in IOP with more amount of local anaesthetic used in the peribulbar block.