Effect of Addition of Dexamethasone or Clonidine to Ropivacaine on Postoperative Analgesia in Ultrasonography Guided Transversus Abdominis Plane Block for Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Prospective Double Blind Randomized Control Trial

Abstract

Background: A hernia repair surgery commonly induces moderate to severe postoperative pain for 48 hours. Aim of the study was to compare 0.5% Ropivacaine with dexamethasone and 0.5% Ropivacaine with clonidine for ultrasonography guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block as post-operative analgesia in patients undergoing Inguinal hernia repair surgery.Subjects and Methods:A randomized prospective controlled clinical study was conducted in 64 patients undergoing Inguinal Herneoplasty. Participants were divided into two groups in which group RD (n=32) received 0.5% Ropivavacaine with Dexamethasone 8mg and those in group RC (n=32) received 0.5% Ropivacaine with Clonidine 75mcg as USG guided TAP block at the end of surgery. The postoperative pain was evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS) for pain scoring at every 2 hours for 24 hours postoperatively. Subjective assessment of duration of analgesia was done.Results:Time to first rescue analgesia was significantly less in group RC (424.53±34.13) compared to group RD (616.09±31.36min) (P < 0.001). Total tramadol consumed in 24 h was significantly higher in group RC than group RD (P < 0.001). Visual analog scale scores for both somatic and visceral pain were significantly higher in group RC than group RD at 6h, 8 h and 12 h postoperatively.Conclusion:TAP block is a safe and effective way of relieving postoperative pain in inguinal herneoplasty patients. Addition of dexamethasone to Ropivacaine significantly enhances its effect in terms of block quality and analgesia duration as compared to clonidine addition.