A comparative study of ropivacaine 0.75% and bupivacaine 0.5% for supraclavicular brachial plexus block for elective upper limb surgeries

Background: Ropivacaine is less cardiotoxic and is safer than bupivacaine. Hence, it can be used in higher doses. However, bupivacaine has more intense motor block compared to ropivacaine. If given in higher doses, it is as good as bupivacaine. However, in low doses, it is not equally potent. Objective: To study and compare the effect of bupivacaine and ropivacaine in the supraclavicular brachial plexus block. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based single-center prospective comparative study was carried out among 60 cases undergoing elective upper limb surgeries. They were divided into two groups of 30 each. The first group was given 0.75% ropivacaine in dose of 0.4 ml/kg. Another group was given 0.5% bupivacaine in the same dose. They were compared for hemodynamic parameters. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar in two groups. All the parameters, such as motor block quality, C-5, T-1 sensory block onset, motor block onset time, and hemodynamic parameters, were comparable. It was also found that even the overall average sensory block duration was similar. The same case was found for the motor block average duration. Conclusion: Thus, it can be concluded that both drugs are equally effective anesthetic agents in patients undergoing elective upper limb surgeries. As ropivacaine is less cardiotoxic, it may be considered over bupivacaine in such cases.