Muhbat Ali, Bashir Ahmed, Hamid Raza, Kamlaish Suchdev, Saqib Khan.
Brachial plexus block; the effectiveness of dexamethasone when added to prilocaine, for sensory and motor blockade, a case control study.
Professional Med J Jan ;23(08):980-4.

The aim of our study is to find out the efficacy of dexamethasone (8mg) on prolonging the duration of motor and sensory blockade as used in brachial plexus block required for forearm and hand surgeries. Study Design: Prospective randomized double blind trial. Period: April 2013 to May 2014, for a period of 14 months. Setting: Tertiary care hospital in Karachi Pakistan. Method: The study population consisted of 42 patients belonging to ASA classification, grades I and II, who underwent elective surgical procedures involving the forearm and hand. The patients were divided in to three groups, group A consisted of patients who were given 2% of prilocaine at 5mg per kg of body weight, group B consisted of patients who were given 2% of prilocaine with dexamethasone (8mg as 2ml) at group C consisted of patients who were given 0.5% of levobupivacaine at 1.5mg per kg of body weight. The time duration and onset of sensory and motor blockade was duly noted for all the three groups. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: The time of onset of motor and sensory block in group A and B, were very similar, there was a difference of longer duration was duly noted in group C, which was statistically significant (p<0.001). In terms of the duration of block, a statistically significant difference was found when compared in the three groups (p<0.001). The duration of sensory and motor blockade was longer in Group C when compared to the other two groups, and they were found to be longer in group B when compared with group A (p<0.001). Side effects were not found in the study population due to small number of patients evaluated. Conclusion: According to our study the addition of dexamethasone to the prilocaine used in hand and forearm surgeries resulted in increased duration of the sensory and motor blockade achieved. While levobupivacaine was found to be a very potent anesthetic when used locally for post op analgesia requirements and during long procedures.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com