Intrathecal Ketamine, Dexmedetomidine and Both With Bupivacaine for Postoperative Abdominal Cancer Surgery Pain

About This Study

Currently, opioids are widely used for pain relief, but they often provide sub-optimal analgesia with occasional serious side effects. Preservative-free ketamine hydrochloride was introduced as a spinal anesthetic more than twenty years ago and found to have advantages over local anesthetics. Intrathecal dexmedetomidine provides an analgesic effect in postoperative pain without severe sedation. The objectives of this study were to compare the efficacy and safety of intrathecally administered dexmedetomidine, ketamine, or their combination when added to bupivacaine for postoperative analgesia in major abdominal cancer surgery.

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• •intrathecal drug administration
• •Dexmedetomidine
• •ketamine
• •Bupivacaine

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

* Aged 30-50 years
* American Society of Anesthesia (ASA) I-II patients
* scheduled for major abdominal cancer surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

* known allergy to the study drugs.
* significant cardiac, respiratory, renal or hepatic disease
* coagulation disorder
* infection at the site of intrathecal injection
* drug or alcohol abuse
* BMI \> 30 kg/m2
* psychiatric illnesses that would interfere with perception and assessment of pain