Research Article Open Access

Evaluation of Epidural Clonidine for Postoperative Pain Relief

Abstract

To evaluate the effectiveness of epidural administration of two different doses of clonidine for postoperative pain relief and its side effects. Study was conducted in 50 patients scheduled for different surgeries under anaesthesia. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. Group I received 150 μg clonidine and Group II received 100 μg clonidine and subsequent doses of 75 μg in 10 ml normal saline. Identical epidural anaesthesia procedures were used for both groups. Onset and duration of action of epidural clonidine, analgesia (VAS score), heart rate, blood pressure and Ramsay sedation score at regular intervals were monitored. The mean duration of post operative analgesia was 457.4±20.57 minutes in Group I as compared to 428.4±22.11 minutes in Group II. A fall in pulse rate and mean blood pressure was observed at 1 hour, more in Group I as compared to Group II of epidural clonidine. No further fall was observed after 1 hour. The sedation scores between the two groups were comparable. Clonidine significantly leads to rapid onset of analgesia and prolongs the duration of postoperative analgesia and reduces postoperative analgesic consumption with initial bolus dose 150μg as compared to 100μg.

Mukesh I Shukla, Ajay Rathod, Swathi N*, Jayesh Kamat, Pramod Sarwa, and Vishal Divecha

To read the full article Download Full Article | Visit Full Article