Comparative Evaluation of Clonidine and Fentanyl as Adjuvants with Levobupivacaine for Postoperative Epidural Analgesia after Total Knee Replacement Surgery - A Randomised Double Blind Study

Comparative Evaluation of Clonidine and Fentanyl as Adjuvants with Levobupivacaine for Postoperative Epidural Analgesia after Total Knee Replacement Surgery - A Randomised Double Blind Study. Anesthesia and Critical Care Abstract Background and Aims Epidural anaesthesia commonly used for inducing anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing lower limb surgeries. Fentanyl as an adjuvant to epidural local anesthetic has been for long time. Clonidine is a potent and selective α-2-adrenoceptor agonist with analgesic potency. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of clonidine and fentanyl as an adjuvant to epidural levobupivacaine in total knee replacement surgery. total knee randomly divided into two groups. Patients were allocated to one of the two groups by computer generated random selection. Group I (n=35) patients received postoperative continuous epidural infusion of levobupivacaine (1.25mg/ml) with fentanyl (2 μg/ml) whereas Group II (n=35) patients received epidural infusion of Levobupivacaine (1.25mg/ml) with Clonidine (1μg/ml) in the range of 3-7 ml/hr.