Effects of Different Routes of Local Anesthetic Administration in Epidural Anesthesia for Transurethral Resection of The Prostate

In urological procedures, the preferred anaesthetic modalities may be topical, regional or general. The decision is made by the anaesthesiologists based on patient age, sex, general condition and the surgical procedure to be performed. Transurethral procedures are frequently applied to geriatric patients, who are more likely to have comorbidities. In such cases, epidural anaesthesia may be preferred for geriatric patients.

In this study, we utilised various routes for the administration of local anaesthetics to induce epidural anaesthesia in patients scheduled for transurethral resection of the prostate (TUR-P) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia. The study encompassed the evaluation of haemodynamic stability, the time to reach sensory block T10, the occurrence of side effects, and the levels of patient and surgeon satisfaction.

Following the approval of the hospital ethics committee, 60 male patients aged 40-75, ASA class I-III, scheduled for elective TUR-P surgery were enrolled in the study.According to the method of local anaesthetic administration, patients were randomly divided into three groups:

Group N (needle); total local anaesthetic administered through the Tuohy needle,Group C (catheter); local anaesthetic administered through the epidural catheter,Group NC (needle/catheter); 50% of local anaesthetic administered through the needle and 50% through the catheter.Patients underwent standard monitorisation in the operating theatre. Each patient received 0.03 mg/kg of midazolam intravenously following catheterisation with a 20-gauge intravenous cannula.Prior to the commencement of epidural block, patients were preloaded with 10 ml/kg of 0.9% isotonic saline infused over a 30-minute period. The hemodynamic parameters were then recorded before and after the premedication, following the epidural block, and every 5 minutes until the patient's sensory block level regressed to L1 dermatome.The epidural anaesthesia was then attempted with an 18-gauge Tuohy needle at the L3-4 interspinal level using the loss of resistance technique following infiltration with 2% lidocaine. Patients in Group N received a mixture of 8ml 2% prilocaine, 7ml 0.5% levobupivacaine and 50μg fentanyl through the epidural space using a Tuohy needle. Patients in Group C received the same drug combination through the epidural catheter. Patients in Group NC received half of the same drug combination through the needle and half through the epidural catheter. Patients were positioned in the right lateral decubitus position with thighs flexed up and neck flexed forward (fetal position), and then placed supine following drug administration.In all groups, time "0" was considered as the time that drug administration was started.

The sensory and motor block levels, heart rates and mean arterial blood pressure values, times to reach sensory block level T10, and side effects were recorded for all patients. Patient and surgeon satisfaction levels were evaluated using a 3-point satisfaction scale by an observer unaware of the study's objectives.Surgeon satisfaction was evaluated during the operation, and patient satisfaction was assessed in the recovery room before patients were transferred to their service bed.