Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
Effect of perineural dexamethasone versus dexmedetomidine as adjuvants to ropivacaine on analgesic duration in pediatric popliteal sciatic nerve blocks: a randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled trial
Primary result · Time to first opioid useResult — go to the resultDifference 1.0 hour 95% CI 0.04–2.06Authors' conclusion
Both adjuvants prolonged analgesia and reduced opioid requirements. Although DEX produced slightly longer analgesia than DEM, the clinical significance of this difference may be limited.
Study context
- Population
- Children aged 3 months to 7 years (American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I–III) undergoing elective foot or ankle surgery with US-guided popliteal sciatic nerve block
- Participants
- 90 children
- Comparison
- Dexamethasone (DEX) vs dexmedetomidine (DEM)
- Primary endpoint
- Time to first rescue opioid administration
Methodological detailstriple-blinded, placebo-controlled, single-centre
- Triple-blinded
- Placebo-controlled
- Single-centre
Primary result
Time to first opioid use
Difference
1.0 hour
95% CI 0.04–2.06
P = 0.0400
By group
DEX vs DEM
difference 1.0 hour (95% CI 0.04–2.06); P = 0.0400
As reported in the abstract
Secondary outcomes
Nalbuphine required
Total opioid consumption (nalbuphine)
Total opioid consumption (nalbuphine)
- Lower in adjuvant groups vs placebo
Face-Legs-Activity-Cry-Consolability (FLACC) pain scores · 6, 8 and 12 hours
- Significantly reduced in both adjuvant groups
Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) · 48 hours
- Significantly lower in the dexamethasone group
- P = 0.0136
Safety
- No nerve injuries or hemodynamic complications occurred
Original publication
Effect of perineural dexamethasone versus dexmedetomidine as adjuvants to ropivacaine on analgesic duration in pediatric popliteal sciatic nerve blocks: a randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Reg Anesth Pain Med. Published 2 October 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →