Comparison of Spinal Anesthesia Vs General Anesthesia in Laparoscopic Appendectomy Surgery

Background: Laparoscopic appendectomy has replaced the traditional surgery technique recent days in India. This surgical technique has become more popular due to various advantages like less bleeding, short hospital stays, and decrease post-operative complications. Studies suggest that spinal anaesthesia technique might be a better option for laparoscopic appendectomy. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the effects of both general anaesthesia and spinal anaesthesia on hemodynamic response in laparoscopic appendectomy. Materials and Methods: This was a comparative study which included 60 surgery patients of acute appendicitis via laparoscopic appendectomy. Groups I included 30 patients of general anaesthesia while, group II consisted 30 patients of spinal anaesthesia. Non-invasive arterial blood pressure, electrocardiography, and pulse oximetry were monitored continuously. Visual analog scale (VAS) on a 10-mm was used for assessment of severity of pain in all the patients. Results: Results of the present study showed that there was a significantly higher heart rate (p<0.05) in group G (general anaesthesia) patients compare to group S (spinal anaesthesia) patients. VAS score was significantly low in group S patients (1.8 ± 0.42) compare to group G patients (3.3 ± 0.8) with p value <0.05 after 1 hour of surgery. VAS score was recorded after 2 hours of surgery 3.6 ± 0.9 in group G compare to group S 2.0 ± 0.52 with p value < 0.05. Conclusion: Findings of the present study suggest that spinal anaesthesia using a combination of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine and a fentanyl has significantly better cardiovascular reactivity compare to general anaesthesia. Moreover, post-operative recovery was hasty in spinal anaesthesia patients in comparison of general anaesthesia patients.