Comparison of postoperative pain relief following use of spinal anesthesia versus general anesthesia for patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Abstract

Objectives: Effective post-operative pain control is an essential component of care of surgical patients. Various analgesic regimens have been used to ensure adequate postoperative pin relief. We conducted this study to compare the efficacy of spinal anesthesia versus general anesthesia regarding post-operative pain following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Pain was measured at immediate postoperative and at six hours postoperatively.
Methodology: After approval of the hospital ethical committee, 120 females were included in our randomized, control trial from 1 July 2015 to 31 Dec 2015. Patients were explained about the study and informed consent was signed by them or their guardians. Patients were randomly divided into two groups; in Group-A patients, spinal anesthesia was achieved with 3 ml 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine hydrochloride and 25 µg fentanyl. Group-B was given GA. All the patients were premedicated with IV metoclopramide 10 mg and dexamethasone 8 mg; preemptive analgesia with 0.1 mg/kg nalbuphine was done. Induction of GA was done with propofol 2 mg/kg, muscle relaxation was achieved with atracurium besylate 0.5 mg/kg. Endotracheal intubation with 6.5 or 7 mm cuffed tube was done, Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess pain severity at immediate post-operative period (S-0) and at 6 hours (S-6).
Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. For quantitative variables like pain score and age, mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated. For qualitative variables like severity of pain, frequency and percentages were calculated. Chi-square test was used to measure frequency of pain between two groups. P-value < 0.05 was taken as significant.