Study of effect of dexamethasone added to lignocaine plus adrenaline in supraclavicular brachial plexus block

Various additives have been employed to extend the brachial plexus block. Dexamethasone, when added to local anesthetic block prolongation with analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects has been seen. Therefore, the currentresearch was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of dexamethasone added to lignocaine plus adrenaline in supraclavicular brachial plexus blockfor patients experiencing upper limb orthopedic surgeries. Total 80 patients were enrolled and randomly categorized into two groups of 40 individual in each. Group I (Control group) received Inj. Lignocaine 1.5% plus adrenaline (1:200000) max safe dose of 7mg/kg+ NS- 2ml while group II (Dexa group) received Inj. Lignocaine 1.5% plus adrenaline (1:200000) max safe dose of 7mg/kg + Inj. Dexamethasone - 2ml (8mg). Total volume in each group ranged between 25-32ml considering the patients individual body weight. Block characteristics, duration and quality of analgesia in the post-operative period were noted. Dexamethasone hastens the onset and prolonged the duration of motor and sensory blockade. The mean duration of postoperative analgesia was prolonged till 8th hour in the dexamethasone group while in the control group it was continued till 3hrs, the role of rescue analgesia commenced after 3rd hour.