Document Type : Original Article (s)
Authors
1
Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
2
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
4
Anesthesiologist, Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
5
Pharmacologist, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
Abstract
Background: Previous studies evaluated the effects of adding nitroglycerin and dexamethasone to lidocaine on the quality of the intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA). However, no comparison was so far made between the two drugs when they are used as adjuvants in intravenous regional anesthesia. This study was designed to compare the effects of adding nitroglycerin or dexamethasone to lidocaine on the quality of intravenous regional anesthesia.Methods: In a prospective randomized double-blinded clinical trial study, 90 patients, with the classes I and II of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grading, undergoing hand or forearm surgery were randomly allocated into three groups of lidocaine (lidocaine + placebo), dexamethasone (lidocaine + dexamethasone), and nitroglycerin (lidocaine + nitroglycerin). The onset and the recovery times from sensory and motor blocks, the starting time of tourniquet pain, the amount of narcotics required during patients’ recovery, and probable side effects were all recorded and compared between the three groups.Findings: The onsets of sensory and motor blocks occurred earlier in dexamethasone and nitroglycerin groups in comparing to lidocaine group (P < 0.05). Sensory and motor block recovery time were significantly longer, and the total amount of analgesic consumption was significantly lower in dexamethasone group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference concerning the onset of tourniquet pain (P > 0.05). No significant variations were detected in gender, age, and duration of operations among the study groups (P > 0.05).Conclusion: Adding dexamethasone to lidocaine in intravenous regional anesthesia improves the quality of anesthesia more than nitroglycerin and placebo.
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