Comparative Study of Intrathecal Bupivacaine versus Bupivacaine With Fentanyl for Post-Operative Analgesia in an Elective Cesarean Section at a Tertiary Care Centre

Introduction: Spinal anaesthesia for cesarean section has been the preferred technique for majority of anaesthesiologist. The finite duration of spinal anaesthesia is the only drawback as compared to general anaesthesia. Therefore combination of local anaesthetics with intrathecal opioids makes it possible to achieve prolonged post-operative analgesia without affecting the mother and the baby. Aims And Objectives: 1)To compare the effectiveness of plain bupivacaine with bupivacaine plus fentanyl for post -operative analgesia among the two groups. 2)To compare the adverse effects among both the groups. Materials and Methods: 154 patients undergoing elective cesarean section under spinal anaesthesia were randomly allocated to two equal groups; Group B patients received 10 mg (2 mL) of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine and Group B + F received 9mg (1.8mL) of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine plus 10 ug (0.2 mL) preservative free fentanyl. The clinical profile of subarachnoid block in two groups, duration of effective analgesia and its effect on maternal and neonatal outcome was studied. Results: The duration of effective analgesia was significantly more in Group B +F (225.03+2.81)mins compared to Group B (119.90+2.76)mins. The incidence of side effects was less in Group B + F than Group B. Conclusion: We can conclude that the addition of fentanyl to 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine for spinal anaesthesia in cesarean section provides effective and prolonged post-operative analgesia with less side effects.