Levobupivacaine versus Ropivacaine: A Comparative Study of the Analgesic and Hemodynamic Spectrum

Introduction: Levobupivacaine and ropivacaine are both newer long-acting local anesthetic drugs increasing the spectrum of local anesthetic armamentarium that were developed following reports of bupivacaine-related severe toxicity. Materials and Methods: After taking permission from the Ethical Committee and proper informed consent from the patients, a comparative study between 0.5% levobupivacaine and 0.75% ropivacaine was carried out over 90 American Society of Anesthesiologists I (ASAI) and ASAII patients appearing for lower limb surgeries in Shri Ram Murti Smarak Institute of Medical Science hospital in Bareilly. A bolus of 20 ml of both the drugs was given via epidural route to both the groups comprising 45 patients each who were randomly selected by closed envelope method. Results: Both the drugs are found to be equally potent in terms of analgesic and hemodynamic parameters. Both the drugs have near equal sensory onset (L = 9.6 s and R = 9.48 s, P > 0.05), and complete sensory regression taking place nearly 190 min for both the drugs. The duration of analgesia for both the drugs was around 175 min with no statistical difference. Both the drugs exhibited comparable hemodynamic response with heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure being stable and comparable without any statistical difference. Conclusion: It is concluded that both 0.5% levobupivacaine and 0.75% ropivacaine are potent enough to carry out lower limb surgeries with stable hemodynamic parameters.