Der Anaesthesist
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Levobupivacaine for epidural anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia in hip surgery: a multi-center efficacy and safety equivalence study with bupivacaine and ropivacaine.
The aim of this randomized, single blind phase IIIb study was to evaluate the efficacy of 0.5% levobupivacaine versus 0.5% bupivacaine and 0.75% ropivacaine administered as epidural anesthesia and 0.125% levobupivacaine versus 0.125% bupivacaine and 0.2% ropivacaine for postoperative analgesia. The study was designed to test the equivalence of the overall profile of levobupivacaine against bupivacaine and ropivacaine. In addition, parameters of clinical safety were assessed. ⋯ The efficacy of epidural levobupivacaine for hip surgery and postoperative analgesia is equivalent and shows a comparable clinical profile to bupivacaine and 50-60% higher concentrated ropivacaine. The results of this equivalence study confirm suggestions derived from previous comparative studies.