European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN LEVOBUPIVACAINE 0.25% AND ROPIVACAINE 0.3% WITH DEXAMETHASONE AS ADJUVANT IN ULTRASOUND GUIDED FEMORAL NERVE BLOCK WITH NERVE STIMULATOR FOR POSTOPERATIVE ANALGESIA IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY UNDER SUBARACHN

Vaishali Thakur, Dr. Sneh and Dr. Shyamal Koley*

ABSTRACT

Effective postoperative pain management remains a critical aspect of patient care, particularly in lower limb orthopedic surgeries such as total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This prospective interventional randomized double-blind study aimed to compare the efficacy of two local anesthetic agents, Levobupivacaine 0.25% and Ropivacaine 0.3%, both supplemented with dexamethasone as an adjuvant, in ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block with a nerve stimulator for postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing TKA under subarachnoid block. The study involved 42 patients aged 20-80 years, with American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) grade I to II, undergoing elective TKA. Randomization into two groups— Levobupivacaine with Dexamethasone (LD) and Ropivacaine with Dexamethasone (RD)—was done using a sealed envelope system. In conclusion, the study supported the use of Levobupivacaine 0.25% with Dexamethasone as a safer and statistically more effective option for ultrasound-guided femoral nerve blocks in total knee arthroplasty patients. The results contribute valuable insights to the ongoing quest for optimizing multimodal analgesia strategies in orthopedic surgeries.

Keywords: Postoperative analgesia. Levobupivacaine 0.25%, Ropivacaine 0.3%, Dexamethasone, Total knee arthroplasty patients.