Intra-articular dexmedetomidine and clonidine for postoperative analgesia in arthroscopic knee surgery

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Many drugs have been used for postoperative pain management which is a common and distressing symptom after knee arthroscopy. But no single ideal intra-articular drug has been found. This study was done to assess the efficacy of intra-articular dexmedetomidine and clonidine for postoperative pain relief in patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgeries<span lang="EN-IN">.</span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> Fifty patients of American Society of Anaesthesiologists of grade I/II, aged 20-70 years posted for arthroscopic knee surgery were randomly divided into groups I (clonidine group) and group II (dexmedetomidine group). 25 patients in group I received 1 µg/ kg of clonidine diluted to 20 ml in normal saline and group II patients received 1 µg/kg of dexmedetomidine diluted to 20 ml in normal saline via intra-articular route at the end of the surgery. Visual analogue score (VAS), time to give the first dose of analgesia and total dose of analgesic required in first 24 hours was evaluated in each group.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> VAS score was lower and time to first analgesic requirement was greater in Group II in comparison to Group I which was statistically significant. Total dose of analgesic used in Group II patients was significantly less compared to patients in Group I which was statistically significant<span lang="EN-IN">. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Intra-articular dexmedetomidine is more effective in providing prolonged postoperative analgesia after arthroscopic knee procedures and reduces the total dose of analgesic required postoperatively compared to clonidine<span lang="EN-IN">.</span></p><p class="abstract"> </p>