COMPARISON OF DEXMEDETOMIDINE AND CLONIDINE AS ADDITIVE WHEN GIVEN SEPARATELY, PREMIXED WITH 0.25% ROPIVACAINE IN PEDIATRIC CAUDAL BLOCK, ON INTRA OPERATIVE ANESTHETIC/ ANALGESIC DRUG REQUIREMENT AND DURATIO

Aim:Comparison of dexmedetomidine and clonidine as additive when given separately, premixed with 0.25% ropivacaine in pediatric caudal block,on intra operative anesthetic/ analgesic drug requirement and duration of post operative analgesia in hypospadias repair surgeries. Methods and Materials:Children,whose parents or guardians,were willing to give consent and fulfilled inclusion criteria were selected for the study.Thepatients were randomly allocated, by double blinding into two groups. Group RD received 0.25% ropivacaine 1 ml/kg +2µg/kg dexmedetomidine (in 0.5 ml volume).Group RC received 1 ml/kg of 0.25% ropivacaine + 1 µg/kg of clonidine (in 0.5 ml volume). Results:Mean age of patients receiving dexmedetomidine and clonidine was 3.20±1.821 and 4.47±1.727 years respectively. No significant difference was obtained in terms of mean age.Blood pressure,Heart rate and Saturation was maintained by both dexmedetomidine and clonidine similarly as revealed by the insignificant p value of >0.05 across the time points during hypospadias repair surgeries.Requirement of adjuvant analgesics intraoperativery and post operative complicationsand was found to be similar in both the groups as revealed by the insignificant P value of 0.309. Time for rescue analgesic postoperatively (min) was significantly (p<0.001) longer among patients receiving dexmedetomidine (706.73±107.428) than clonidine (504.33±97.573). Conclusion:We observed that a single caudal injection of dexmedetomidine (2µg/kg) added to ropivacaine 0.25% offers an advantage over a similar injection of clonidine (1µg/kg) added to ropivacaine 0.25% for postoperative pain relief in children undergoing hypospadias repair surgeries without increase in post operative complications.