Comparing the Efficacy of Epidural Buprenorphine versus Epidural Butorphanol in Postoperative Pain Relief in Laparoscopic Surgeries: A Randomized Double Blinded Controlled Study

Background: Pain is one of the common complications which causes delayed recovery and more extended hospital stay. Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of postoperative analgesia with epidural Buprenorphine and Butorphanol. Methods: The study design was a prospective randomized controlled double-blinded clinical study. In total, 60 patients who belonged to the ASA physical status class ? and ??, aged between 30 - 50 years, scheduled for elective laparoscopic surgeries were randomly assigned into two groups; each group contains 30 patients. Surgeries were done under general anesthesia. At the end of the surgery, "Group A" Received 1 ml (0.3 mg) of Buprenorphine diluted to 10ml with NS and "Group B" Received 1ml (1mg) of Butorphanol Tartrate diluted to 10ml with NS through the epidural catheter. Observations were recorded by a blind observer anesthesiologist. VAS was assessed every hour till the 6th hour, then 2nd hourly till the 12th hour. To asses sedation, the Ramsay sedation score (RSS) was used. Patients were given rescue analgesic (inj.Diclofenac 50 mg IM) when the patients complained of pain, and the pain scales (VAS) more than 6. The total duration of postoperative analgesia was noted. Patients were observed for any side effects like respiratory depression, nausea, vomiting, pruritus, and headache. Student?s t-test and Mann-Whitney's tests were used for analysis. Results: There was a statistically highly significant difference in the duration of analgesia between the two groups (p