title: The effect of 0.5% ropivacaine on epidural blood flow.
abstract: Twenty patients scheduled for elective abdominal surgery received epidural analgesia with 20 ml 0.5% ropivacaine or 0.5% bupivacaine. Epidural blood flow was measured by an epidural 133Xe clearance technique on the day before surgery (no local anaesthetic) and again 1 h before surgery, 30 min after injection of the local anaesthetic during continuous infusion (8 ml/h). Median initial blood flow was 5.0 ml/min and 6.0 ml/min per 100 g tissue in patients receiving ropivacaine and bupivacaine, respectively. After epidural bupivacaine, blood flow increased in 8 of 10 patients to 6.9 ml/min per 100 g tissue (P less than 0.05) in contrast to a decrease in 9 of 10 patients to 3.3 ml/min per 100 g tissue after ropivacaine (P less than 0.05), (P less than 0.01 between groups). The median level of sensory analgesia was T3.5 and T4.5 in the ropivacaine and bupivacaine group, respectively (P greater than 0.05). The demonstrated vasoconstrictor effect of epidural ropivacaine may influence the duration of its local anaesthetic effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, Hvidovre University Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Dahl
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Simonsen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mogensen
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Henriksen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kehlet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000577:Amides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002045:Bupivacaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004824:Epidural Space / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077212:Ropivacaine; D013115:Spinal Canal / Q000187:drug effects*; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes
chemical_list: D000577:Amides; D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes; D000077212:Ropivacaine; D002045:Bupivacaine