Vol. 6, Issue 3 (2020)

Background: Regional anesthesia is commonly used for elective hand surgeries to manage intraoperative pain and reduce postoperative discomfort. The addition of opioids like sufentanil or tramadol to local anesthetics like lignocaine may enhance anesthesia quality. 
Materials and Methods: A prospective, randomized controlled study was conducted at Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences, Pondicherry, from August 2019 to July 2020. A total of 60 patients were randomly assigned to three groups: Group A (lignocaine), Group B (lignocaine + tramadol) and Group C (lignocaine + sufentanil). Sensory and motor block onset times, postoperative analgesia duration, and analgesic consumption were assessed.
Results: Group C showed the fastest onset of both sensory (mean 3.6 minutes) and motor blocks (mean 6.33 minutes), significantly better than Group A and Group B. Postoperatively, Group C also exhibited the longest analgesia duration (mean 222.3 minutes) and required the least postoperative analgesics (90.21 mg). Group A showed the highest VAS scores for tourniquet pain, indicating poorer pain control. Minimal side effects were observed, with somnolence more common in Group C.
Conclusion: Adding sufentanil to lignocaine improves the onset of anesthesia and provides superior postoperative analgesia with reduced analgesic consumption. This combination offers enhanced pain control and may be a valuable adjunct in regional anesthesia for hand surgeries.