الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 111 |  |  |
| | | from | 111 | | |
Abstract
Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in the pediatric population. Using optimal analgesic regimen provides safe and effective analgesia, reduce postoperative stress response and accelerate recovery from surgery.
Regional anesthetic techniques are commonly used to facilitate pain control in pediatric surgical procedures. The most commonly used technique in pediatrics is caudal block.
This study is was conducted to examine the effect of Dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to Levobupivacaine in caudal anesthesia, mainly its effect in enhancing and prolonging post-operative analgesia.
The study was conducted on 50 randomly chosen patients in Ain Shams University Hospitals after approval of the medical ethical committee. Patients were divided randomly into two groups, each group consisted of 25 patients.
After preoperative assessment and obtaining baseline vital data, all patients received general anesthesia.
group A:
Patients in this group received caudal anesthesia with Levobupivacaine 0.25% at a dose of 2 mg•kg−1 (0.8 ml•kg−1) before the beginning of the procedure.
group B:
Patients in this group received Levobupivacaine 0.25% at a dose of 2 mg•kg−1 (0.8 ml•kg−1) in addition to Dexmedetomidine 1 μg•kg−1 in 1 ml normal saline before the beginning of the procedure.
The two groups were adequately monitored and assessed intra- and post-operatively and they were compared regarding demographic data, intra and postoperative hemodynamics, postoperative pain control using FLACC scale in the 1st 24h postoperatively and analgesic requirement.
The results of the study revealed that Dexmedetomidine as adjuvant to Levobupivacaine provided significantly prolonged postoperative analgesia, reduced the postoperative analgesic requirements and better parents’ satisfaction as compared with caudal analgesia using Levobupivacaine alone in children undergoing hernia repair.