Intravenous and Perineural Dexamethasone for Brachial Plexus Block in Hand Surgery

This study aims to evaluate the if the administration of dexamethasone both around the nerve and in the vein (perineural and intravenous (IV)) will prolong the duration of pain relief from ropivacaine when compared with ropivacaine local block alone or when administered along with IV dexamethasone in patients undergoing hand surgery. Individuals who have hand surgery scheduled will be evaluated for eligibility in this study. Eligible and consenting patients will be randomly assigned to one of three groups (1:1:1) as follows: • Group A (IV dexamethasone): Perineural (30ml of 0.75% ropivacaine + 0.5 ml normal saline) and IV (9.0 ml normal saline + 1 ml of 10 mg/ml Dexamethasone) • Group B (IV + perineural dexamethasone): Perineural (30ml of 0.75% ropivacaine + 0.5 ml of 10 mg/ml Dexamethasone) and IV (9.5 ml normal saline + 0.5 ml of 10 mg/ml Dexamethasone) • Group C (control with no adjuvant dexamethasone): Perineural (30ml of 0.75 ropivacaine + 0.5 ml normal saline) and IV (10 ml normal saline) This study is single-blind, so the subjects will not know to which group they have been assigned. All subjects will receive at least a nerve block with a local anesthetic, or numbing agent. After written, informed consent is obtained and on the day of surgery, the research staff will collect information about the subject's medical history including allergies (seasonal and drug related), demographics (gender, age, height, weight), history of drug use, pain and nausea scores, and vital signs. All medication taken 1 month prior to treatment day will be recorded. Information will be collected from the physical examination performed by the surgeon, which is a standard procedure for the pre-operative visit, regardless of participation in the study. After being put under light sedation according to standardized sedation, as written in the protocol, one group will receive a local nerve block and numbing agent. The other two groups will receive either the nerve block and local anesthetic with intravenous dexamethasone or the nerve block and local anesthetic with both intravenous and perineural (local) dexamethasone, as described above. Details regarding the subject's surgery and anesthesia will be collected, and after your surgery, a member of the research team will provide the subject with a diary to document level of pain, movement, any episodes of nausea/vomiting, and the number of pain medicine tablets taken for up to 48 hours after surgery. The subjects will receive a follow up phone call 48 hours after the nerve block from the research team to collect the information already documented in the diary. Thus far, no evidence of dexamethasone toxicity around the nerve has been shown and no neurologic complications or infections have been reported. Only one study reported blood glucose elevations [1]. There is a potential benefit of enhancing the duration of the nerve block and therefore pain management. The results of this study will help clarify if use of dexamethasone as an adjuvant in nerve block will prolong the effect of the nerve block and reduce the heightened sensitivity to pain and burning sensation as the block wears off.