title: Comparison between two doses of dexmedetomidine added to bupivacaine for caudal analgesia in paediatric infraumbilical surgeries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Caudal block (CB) with adjuvants is routinely used in children for anaesthesia. We evaluated the efficacy of the α2 adrenergic agonist, dexmedetomidine at two different doses as an adjuvant to bupivacaine in CB.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted on ninety children. Control group BD0 received 0.25% bupivacaine 1 ml/kg, whereas, the study groups BD1 and BD2 received 1 μg/kg and 2 μg/kg dexmedetomidine, respectively, with 0.25% bupivacaine 1 ml/kg as a single shot CB. Adequacy of the block, haemodynamic changes, duration of analgesia and side effects were compared. Analysis of Variance was used for between-group comparisons of numerical variables. Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used for quantitative data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The demography was comparable. Anal sphincter 5 min after administration of the CB was relaxed in 89.3%, 82.1% and 75% of cases in BD0, BD1 and BD2 groups, respectively. The sphincter was relaxed at the end of surgery in all the cases. Comparable haemodynamics was noted with significantly prolonged duration of analgesia in the groups BD1 (964.2 ± 309 min) and BD2 (1152.6 ± 380.4 min) compared to control (444.6 ± 179.4 min). While no complications were encountered in groups BD0 and BD1, bradycardia was observed in four cases of BD2 group with accompanied hypotension in one of them.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to bupivacaine improves the quality of CB, provides good operating conditions and increases the duration of post-operative analgesia. We conclude that 1 μg/kg is as effective as 2 μg/kg of dexmedetomidine and with a better safety profile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte University, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Niveditha Padma
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Meenakshi Karuppiah
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte University, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Sumalatha R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte University, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Krishna Prasad
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Patla
keywords: Adjuvants; bupivacaine; caudal; dexmedetomidine; paediatric regional anaesthesia; post-operative analgesia