A Comparative Study of Epidural Anaesthesia Versus Spinal Anaesthesia for Inguinal Hernioplasty

Epidural Anaesthesia Versus Spinal Anaesthesia for Inguinal Hernioplasty

Abstract

Introduction: Epidural administration is a method of medication administration in which a medicine is injected into the epidural space around the spinal cord. Spinal anaesthesia is a form of neuraxial regional anaesthesia involving the injection of a local anaesthetic or opioid into the subarachnoid space, generally through a fine needle, usually 9 cm (3.5 in) long. Hernia repair surgery, a single long incision is made in the groin. If the hernia is going down the inguinal canal (indirect), the hernia sac is either pushed back or tied off and removed. Subjects and Methods: The study has been conducted in 100 patients posted for elective inguinal hernia repair in the Dept. of Anaesthesia, at tertiary care teaching hospital over a period of six months. Pre anaesthetic evaluation was done along with all requisite blood and urine examination, Hb.BT, CT, ECG, 2D ECHO in pts above 50 yrs. All patients were assessed and they were graded according to the ASA physical status I and II. They were educated regarding the anaesthetic technique. Result: Total time taken for performing the procedure was significantly longer with Epidural Anaesthesia than that of Spinal Anaesthesia (8.24 0.32 Vs 4.23 0.52 minutes, p<0.001) but onset of action was comparable in both the groups (7.18 1.18 in Spinal Vs 11.428 0.37 min in Epidural p<0.001 Significant). Intraoperative fluid requirement was statistically higher in Spinal than Epidural (1654 193.2 ml vs 1158.22 78.27.16 ml) (p<0.0001). Duration of Surgery was significantly shorter in Spinal as compared to Epidural (91.24 8.41 vs 126.04 11.32 mins.) (p=0.019). 2 % patients had failure of Epidural block whereas no Spinal Anaesthesia failed in patients.