Muhammad Haroon Anwar, Hassam Zulfiqar, Naseer Ahmad, Abeera Zareen, Jawad Zahir, Inam-ul Haq.
Comparison of Intravenous Dexamethasone along with Caudal Block versus Caudal Block Alone for Postoperative Analgesia in Pediatric Lower Abdominal Surgeries.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;19(4):00-00.

Introduction: Post-operative pain results in psychological, physical and financial stress leading to delayed recovery and discharge from hospital. There are numerous ways to alleviate post-operative pain such as by use of loco-regional anesthesia or by oral or parenteral drugs. Loco-regional techniques have better efficacy and lesser systemic side effects and their effects can be enhanced by use of adjuvants such as Dexamethasone, Clonidine etc. In pediatric age group most common day care surgeries and infra umbilical abdominal surgeries carried out under the cover of single shot caudal block for effective analgesia. Dexamethasone a simple steroid can be added to anesthetic regimen to enhance the duration of caudal block. Methodology: This Randomized Control Trial was carried out Department of Anesthesia, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi from 1st December 2021-31 May 2022. Patients fulfilling inclusion criteria were divided into two groups. Both groups received caudal block with 1 ml/kg of 0.25% Bupivacaine while group A received 0.25 mg/kg of Dexamethasone intravenously as an adjuvant. Post operatively patients were assessed by FLACC scores at different time intervals. Data was analyzed using SPSS 26.0. Results: Mean duration of analgesia in Group A was 7.77 ± 1.38 hours while it was 5.44 ± 0.91 hours in group B. The difference was statistically significant with a p value of less than 0.05 on Mann Whitney U test. Conclusion: Addition of intravenous dexamethasone to caudal block significantly enhances the duration and quality of analgesia among pediatric patients undergoing lower abdominal surgeries.

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