Sole Epidural: A Unique Drug Combination for Abdominal and Orthopedic/lower Limb Surgeries

Context: Epidural anesthesia is one of the many advances that has gained rapid acceptance due to an evidence-based reduction in morbidity and overall patient satisfaction. Settings and Design: We present an audit of 1,143 patients who were administered epidural anesthesia solely, with successful outcomes between January 2009 and August 2014 at Sagar Hospitals, Banashankari, Bengaluru employing conventional techniques with a unique drug combination. Materials and Methods: A retrospective followed by prospective data collection of all patients given sole epidural at our hospital was taken and analyzed. The number of conversions to GA due to ineffective anaesthetic block was tabulated and charted for assessment. Laboratory analysis of the drug combination was performed in order to understand the pharmacology better. Results and Conclusion: The audit revealed that our technique of sole epidural using the unique drug combination is definitely effective with minimal rates of conversion to GA and negligible complication rates.