Abstract

Background: Various adjuvants have been used with local anesthetics in spinal
anesthesia to avoid intraoperative visceral and somatic pain and to provide prolonged
postoperative analgesia.
Aims: To compare the intraoperative effects of a single low dose of intrathecal tramadol
and intrathecal fentanyl with hyperbaric bupivacaine hydrochloride.
Materials and methods: Fifty patients undergoing Orthopaedic Surgery were randomly
allocated to two groups to be given the following agents by intrathecal route: Group A:
0.5% Bupivacaine 3.0 ml and 25 micro grams fentanyl and Group B: received 0.5%
Bupivacaine 3.0 ml and 25 milligrams tramadol. Intraoperative hemodynamics, pain
scores (assessed using a visual analogue scale), post-operative pain relief and side effects
in both groups was evaluated clinically.
Results: Intraoperatively no significant differences in BP, pulse rate and respiratory
rate were noted. Time to full motor recovery was not delayed in any of the patients in
both the groups. The mean duration of analgesia did not differ in both groups. Mean
duration of analgesia in Group A was 562 minutes and in Group B was 551.2 min. Time
for two segment regression did not differ in both the groups. The patients in both the
groups showed minimal side effects, like nausea, vomiting and pruritis. The incidence of
side effects were statistically in significant.
Conclusions: Both intrathecal tramadol and intrathecal fentanyl act synergistically to
potentiate bupivacaine induced sensory spinal block. Excellent surgical anesthesia and
an extended analgesia was observed in post-operative period with minimum side effects
were observed in both groups.