American Research Journal of Anesthesia

Background: The goals of preemptive analgesia are to decrease acute pain after tissue injury, prevent pathologic modulation of central nervous system caused by pain and prevent the development of chronic pain. The goal of this study is to evaluate analgesic efficacy of verapamil when added to epidural bupivacaine and fentanyl in patients undergoing knee arthroscopy. Patients and Methods: Forty patients undergoing knee arthroscopy were classified into 2 groups, first group (F) received epidural bupivacaine and fentanyl and second group (F-V) received epidural bupivacaine, fentanyl and verapamil. Pain assessment using prince henry score, the first time patient ask for analgesia (duration of analgesia) and post-operative analgesic consumption were recorded. Results: The duration of analgesia was significantly longer in group (F-V) than group (F). The total dose required for 24 hrs. postoperative analgesia was significantly reduced in group(F-V) compared to group (F). There was highly significant reduction in prince hennery score in group (F-V) in comparison to group (F) from 6th to 12th hours post operatively Conclusion: Epidural verapamil with fentanyl and bupivacaine produce effective and prolonged post-operative analgesia in patients undergoing knee arthroscopy compared with epidural bupivacaine and fentanyl alone.