Comparison of Caudal Bupivacaine Alone with Dexmedetomidine as an Adjuvant with Bupivacaine for Post Operative Analgesia in Paediatric Patient Undergoing Inguinal Region Surgeries

Postoperative pain management is becoming an integral part of anaesthesia care. Various techniques of pediatric pain relief have been designed among which the most commonly practiced is caudal epidural block. Its main disadvantage remains the short duration of action. Hence different additives have been used. Several adjuvants have been used to prolong the duration of caudal analgesia such as clonidine, neostigmine, ketamine, opioids, and ephedrine. We have designed the study using dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to assess analgesic efficacy duration of postoperative analgesia, hemodynamic stability, postoperative sedation, and any adverse effects in children. The aim is to study the comparative effects of dexmedetomidine 1gm/kg as an adjuvant to bupivacaine 0.25 % (0.5ml/kg) with bupivacaine 0.25 % used alone.