LOCAL ANAESTHETICS INFILTRATION IN WOUNDS

Abstract

Objective: To compare the effects of analgesia with local infiltration of
bupivacaine in postoperative wounds with control group, which had no infiltration. Study Design: Prospective
comparative study. Setting: At surgical unit-1, Sheikh Zayed Medical College/Hospital Rahim Yar Khan. Period: From
1 July 2003 and 30 June 2004 st th . Material and Method: Two groups of 100 patients each were formed to underwent
abdominal surgery during the study. In study group, 0.25% bupivacaine was infiltrated in wound margins before
applying skin stitches and results were compared with the control group in terms of post operative pain free interval,
mobilization time, average hospital stay and complication rate. Results: In study group, post operative analgesic
demand was delayed for 5.3 hours as compared to 2.7 hours in control group. 75mg of total analgesic was used as
compared to 175mg in control group and the average mobilization time of patients in study group was 8 hours as
compared to 14 hours after operation in control group. Average hospital stay and complication rate were less in study
group with only 1% of patients in study group had transient CNS toxic symptoms due to bupivacaine. Conclusions:
Wound infiltration with a local anaesthetic is a simple, safe and effective method to provide early post operative wound
analgesia.