Effectiveness of Nalbuphine with Ropivacaine in Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block in Patients Undergoing Upper Limb Surgeries

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of ropivacaine in supraclavicular brachial plexus block by nalbuphine and compare it to ropivacaine alone. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anaesthesia, Fatima Memorial Hospital/College of Medicine & Dentistry, Lahore from 1st June 2020 to 31st March 2021. Methods: Ninety six patients of both genders with ages 20 to 65 years undergoing upper limb surgical procedure electively were included. All the patients were divided equally in to two groups, each group consist of 48 patients. Group A treated with ropivacaine with nalbuphine and group B treated with ropivacaine normal saline. Effectiveness between both groups was examined. Results: No significant difference was observed regarding age, gender, body mass index and ASA class I/II between both groups with p-value >0.05.A significant difference was found regarding onset time of sensory and motor block between both groups (p=0.001). Mean sensory block duration in group A was more 425.18±17.82 minutes as compared to group B 254.43±20.44 minutes. Mean duration of motor block was also more in group A 418.65±20.84 minutes as compared to group B 226.15±12.52 minutes. Duration of analgesia was high in group A as compared to group B with p-value <0.05. Conclusion: In supraclavicular brachial plexus block 0.75% with 10mg of nalbuphine is particularly effective in sensory, motor, and analgesic periods in relation to ropivacaine alone.