Intravenous Propofol as An Adjunct to Spinal Anesthesia to Provide Sedation- A Clinico- Epidemiological Study

Abstract

Background: Regional anesthesia is becoming an increasingly important aspect of anesthetic practice. Propofol offers titratable sedation and rapid recovery compromising hemodynamic stability. This may prove to be an important clinical consideration for its use as an adjunct to spinal anesthesia. So, this study investigated the properties of propofol when given by intravenous infusion to provide sedation as an adjunct to spinal anesthesia. Material and Methods: A prospective, clinical study was conducted among patients aged 18-40 years for elective surgery under spinal anesthesia. A total of 60 pregnant patients undergoing a C-Section with spinal anesthesia were randomly allocated into two groups. Patients in Group P (received a propofol infusion at a rate of 50 μg/kg/min), Inj. Hyperbaric Bupivacaine 0.5%, 2.5 cc (12.5 mg) intrathecally, and Group C (received 100 ml of isotonic solution), Inj. Hyperbaric Bupivacaine 0.5%, 2.5 cc (12.5mg) intrathecally. The level of sedation was recorded every 5 minutes (Level 4 or 5) on a 5-point sedation score. Results: The mean age group P was 27.2+/- 6.6 years and group C was 30+/-7.3 years. The average duration of surgery was 60± 12.7 minutes, the anesthetic time for group P was 68.8 ± 2.7 and for the group, C was 68.0 ± 6.5 and statistically significant (p<0.05). Recovery was impressively rapid and patients regained full consciousness approximately 7.8 ± 2.4 in group P after the end of infusion and were free from minor postoperative sequelae than group C. Conclusion: It has been concluded that intravenous propofol sedation as an adjunct to spinal anesthesia is associated with a lower incidence of postoperative complications & better compliance. Our findings should be confirmed in future prospective studies and more research trials are needed to find optimized doses for different ages, gender, and health status. The development of new modes of administration is a matter of interest and improved quality of sedation is much needed of the hour.