Ketamine and levobupivacaine versus levobupivacaine alone for post operative analgesia and side effects in lower abdominal surgeries in children – A comparative study

Background: Different additive drugs such as opioids, epinephrine, clonidine, and neostigmine have been used along with local anaesthetics to improve the duration and quality of analgesia. Few studies have demonstrated the increase of efficacy in various aspects after combining dexmedetomidine and ropivacaine and dexmedetomidine to caudal bupivacaine in pediatric major abdominal cancer surgeries. Objectives: The present study was designed to compare the duration of postoperative analgesia and the incidence of any side effects of single-dose caudal levobupivacaine with ketamine versus levobupivacaine alone in childrens undergoing lower abdominal surgeries. Materials and methods: A total of 50 pediatric patients, 2–4 years of age, were included in the study. They were divided into two groups: group A (n = 25) received levobupivacaine, whereas group B (n = 25) received ketamine with levobupivacaine. Postoperative duration of analgesia and postoperative complications were recorded in all the childrens. Results: The duration of postoperative analgesia was longer in group B than in group A, which was statistically significant. Few postoperative complications were recorded in group B. Conclusion: Combination of ketamine with levobupivacaine by caudal epidural administration produced an additive analgesic effect with few side effects when compare to levobupivacaine alone.