Effect of IV dexamethasone on the duration of spinal anesthesia administered with 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine and morphine in elective lower segment caesarean section – Double-blind randomized controlled trial

This double blinded randomized control study, led by Dr. Anusha B, aims to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous Dexamethasone in prolonging the duration of postoperative analgesia in elective Lower section Caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia with Inj. 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine 2.2 ml and 100 mcg of Inj. Morphine given intrathecally. The primary objective is to assess the effect of single dose IV Dexamethasone 8 mg on prolonging the duration of post-operative analgesia in LSCS under spinal anaesthesia using VAS score immediately on receiving in PACU and then at 15 min intervals till 4 hours and at 5, 6, 12, 24 hours post-operatively. This study enrols 62 pregnant females undergoing elective LSCS under spinal anaesthesia. After thorough preanesthetic check-up of all patients including all routine investigations, written consent shall be obtained. Randomization is done and Group -A will receive Inj. Dexamethasone 8 mg (2 ml) given IV, while Group - B which is the Control group will receive 2 ml 0.9% normal saline IV. Post operatively both groups are compared for Duration of post operative analgesia assessed by Visual Analog Scale score, time required for first rescue analgesic, duration of sensory block, duration of motor block duration using Modified Bromage Scale grading, assessment of Hemodynamic parameters, Total administered analgesics in 24 hrs, Incidence of PONV (post operative nausea and vomiting), Incidence of post operative shivering, Incidence of complications, if present. The statistical analysis will be conducted using SPSS software version 30.0. Statistical tests will be done by independent ‘t’-test and chi-square test according to the parameters considering p-value < 0.05 statistically significant. The study is done at Mehta Multi Speciality Hospitals, Chetpet, Chennai.