Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
Dexamethasone as a perineural adjuvant to a ropivacaine popliteal sciatic nerve block for pediatric foot surgery: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Authors' conclusion
Perineural dexamethasone significantly prolonged postoperative motor block duration and did not influence blood glucose, NLR, or PLR levels.
Study context
- Population
- Children aged 2–5 years, >5 kg, scheduled for foot or ankle surgery under spinal anesthesia with ultrasound-guided single-shot popliteal sciatic nerve block
- Participants
- 90 children
- Comparison
- Perineural dexamethasone 0.1 or 0.05 mg/kg added to 0.5% ropivacaine vs ropivacaine with saline, popliteal sciatic nerve block
- Primary endpoint
- Time to first rescue opioid analgesia
Methodological detailsparallel, double-blinded, placebo-controlled
- Parallel
- Double-blinded
- Placebo-controlled
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Mean difference, hours (95% CI)P value
DEX0.1 vs DEX0.05
2.2(0.7–3.6)
P < 0.01Mean difference (95% CI)P value
DEX0.1 vs control
−9.9(−11.4 to −8.4)
P < 0.001Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | Control | DEX0.1 | DEX0.05 | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motor block durationDEX0.1 vs DEX0.05 | 7.8 ± 1.1 | 17.3 (SD 2.5) hours | 15.2 (SD 2.7) hours | P < 0.01 |
| Motor block durationDEX0.1 vs control | P < 0.001 | |||
| Total opioid consumptionDEX0.1 vs control · significantly lower in DEX0.1 | P = 0.01 |
Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and blood glucose · baseline, 24 hours, and 48 hours post surgery
- Did not differ significantly between the groups
Original publication
Dexamethasone as a perineural adjuvant to a ropivacaine popliteal sciatic nerve block for pediatric foot surgery: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Reg Anesth Pain Med. Published 29 August 2024. doi:10.
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