Background:Ephedrine was conventionally regarded as the first-choice drug to maintain maternal blood pressure during spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery, due to its stimulant activity on α- and β-adrenergic receptors. Norepinephrine is a weak β-adrenergic and potent α-adrenergic receptor agonist. Therefore, it may be suitable for maintaining blood pressure with less chronotropic effects compared to ephedrine.Patients and Methods:One hundred and forty healthy patients having cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia were randomized to Group N (n = 61) who received a prophylactic bolus of norepinephrine 5 μg intravenous (i.v.) at the time of intrathecal block or Group E (n = 61) who received a prophylactic bolus of i.v. ephedrine 10 mg. Rescue i.v. bolus interventions of norepinephrine 5 μg or ephedrine 10 mg were given as required to maintain systolic blood pressure. Maternal and fetal hemodynamic variables, Apgar score, and number of boluses of vasopressors used were recorded.Results:The numbers of maternal hypotension and hypertension episodes and the frequency of bradycardia and tachycardia were significantly lower in Group N compared with Group E (P = 0.02, 0.003, 0.0002, and 0.008, respectively). The number of boluses of vasopressors used was also lower in Group N (P = 0.005). Uterine artery pulsatility index was lower in Group N compared to Group E (P = 0.01) when measured 5 min after spinal anesthesia. Moreover, it was higher at 5 min in Group E when compared with the baseline readings in the same group (P = 0.001).Conclusions:Norepinephrine is a suitable and potent drug to counterbalance the hemodynamic effects of spinal anesthesia during cesarean delivery.

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Background and Aims:Intraperitoneal local anesthetic is an effective analgesic approach in laparoscopic appendectomy in adults. The aim of the study was to compare the postoperative pain when intraperitoneal bupivacaine is administered alone versus the addition of dexmedetomidine to it in children undergoing a laparoscopic appendectomy.Methods:In this prospective randomized trial, 52 children were randomly allocated to Group B who received intraperitoneal bupivacaine 0.25% (2 mg/kg) or Group BD who received intraperitoneal bupivacaine 0.25% (2 mg/kg) plus dexmedetomidine (1 mcg/kg) for postoperative analgesia in children undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy. Postoperative pethidine consumption at day 1 was recorded and considered the primary outcome of the study. Patients were evaluated for pain scores at 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h, time to first request of pethidine, sedation scores at 0, 2, 4, and 6 h, length of hospital stay, and parents’ satisfaction. Chi-square, Fisher's exact, Student's t-test, and Mann–Whitney U-tests were used for analysis.Results:Postoperative visual analog scale scores were lower in Group BD at 2, 4, and 6 h (mean = 3, 3, 3, respectively) compared with Group B (mean = 4, 5, 4, respectively) (P < 0.05). Patients in Group BD had more sedation scores at 0, 2, and 4 h (P < 0.05), longer time to first rescue analgesia (P = 0.03), lesser rescue analgesic consumption (P = 0.02), shorter length of hospital stay (P = 0.02), and higher parents’ satisfaction (P = 0.01).Conclusion:Adding dexmedetomidine to intraperitoneal bupivacaine provides adequate postoperative analgesia in children undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy.

Background It is debatable whether opioid-free anaesthesia (OFA) is better suited than multimodal analgesia (MMA) to achieve the goals of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Methods In all patients, anaesthesia was conducted with an i.v. induction with propofol (2 mg. kg-1), myorelaxation with cisatracurium (0.15 mg.kg-1), in addition to an ultrasound-guided bilateral oblique subcostal transverse abdominis plane block. In addition, patients in the OFA group (n = 51) received i.v. dexmedetomidine 0.1 μg.kg-1 and ketamine (0.5 mg. kg-1) at induction, then dexmedetomidine 0.5 μg. kg-1.h-1, ketamine 0.5 mg.kg-1.h-1, and lidocaine 1 mg. kg-1.h-1 for maintenance, while patients in the MMA group (n = 52) had only i.v. fentanyl (1 μg. kg-1) at induction. The primary outcome was the quality of recovery assessed by QoR-40, at the 6th and the 24th postoperative hour. Secondary outcomes were postoperative opioid consumption, time to ambulate, time to tolerate oral fluid, and time to readiness for discharge. Results At the 6th hour, the QoR-40 was higher in the OFA than in the MMA group (respective median [IQR] values: 180 [173–195] vs. 185 [173–191], p < 0.0001), but no longer difference was found at the 24th hour (median values = 191 in both groups). OFA also significantly reduced postoperative pain and morphine consumption (20 mg [1–21] vs. 10 mg [1–11], p = 0.005), as well as time to oral fluid tolerance (238 [151–346] vs. 175 min [98–275], p = 0.022), and readiness for discharge (505 [439–626] vs. 444 min [356–529], p = 0.001), but did not influence time to ambulate. Conclusion While regional anaesthesia achieved most of the intraoperative analgesia, avoiding intraoperative opioids with the help of this OFA protocol was able to improve several sensible parameters of postoperative functional recovery, thus improving our knowledge on the OFA effects. Clinical trial number Registration number NCT04285255.