To assess the amount of Propofol required for induction based on bispectral index(BIS)after administering epidural anesthesia with Ropivacaine alone and Ropivacaine with Dexmedetomidine in patients undergoing lower extremities and abdominal surgeries

A comparative two group study was carried out in sixty patients at M.S.RamaiahHospitals.Group I received epidural anesthesia with 15ml of 0.5% of ropivacaine and 1ml normal saline and Group II received 15ml of 0.5% of ropivacaine and dexmedetomidine 1mcg/kg and diluting it with normal saline to a volume of 1ml. Onset of sensory and motor block, time for loss of consciousness and total amount of propofol used during induction to achieve the BIS value <55 were recorded.Student t test and Chi-square/Fisher Exact test has been used to find the significance of study parameters.

Time of onset of sensory block(Group I 11.30±1.64/Group II 8.27±0.83),motor block (Group I 14.37±1.33/Group II 12.63±1.22),time for loss of consciousness(Group I 90.57±11.05/Group II 73.67±16.34),total amount of propofol(GroupI129.83±22.38/ Group II 92.13±12.93)were reduced in Group II which was statistically significant.

Epidural ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine significantly decreases the onset time of sensory and motor block. Also it reduces the total propofol dose required for induction of anesthesia and provides good hemodynamic stability.