Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Feb 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of epidural clonidine on minimum local anesthetic concentration (ED50) of levobupivacaine for caudal block in children.
Clonidine has the potential to significantly prolong the duration of caudal epidural anesthesia. We investigated the effect of the addition of clonidine to the MLAC of levobupivacaine in a randomized controlled dose-response trial. ⋯ Clonidine produces a local anesthetic sparing effect with a dose-dependent decrease in levobupivacaine MLAC for caudal anesthesia. In addition, there is a dose-dependent prolongation of postoperative analgesia following lower abdominal surgery in children. A dose of 2 μg·kg(-1) of clonidine provides the optimum balance between improved analgesia and minimal side effects.