Background: In lumbar disc herniation, although surgery can provide relief from pain in the low back and lower extremities, many drugs can provide more relief; thus, the aim was the evaluation of epidural dexamethasone and bupivacaine efficacy in lumbar disc herniation surgery. Methods: A total of 42 cases were evaluated in a triple-blind randomized clinical trial study. Patients were divided into intervention and control groups based on permuted block randomization. The patient’s condition was assessed based on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at 3, 6, 12, and 24 h and 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. In addition, the patient’s disability was assessed by Oswestry disability index (ODI) at 1 and 6 months after surgery. Results: Of the 42 evaluated cases, age (44.0 ± 12.4, P = 0.4) and hospitalization duration (1.9 ± 0.3 days, P = 0.02) had statistically significant difference between two groups. The severity of low back pain before surgery was 2.9 ± 1.9 ( P = 0.74), and 3 hours after surgery was 4.9 ± 1.9 in the control group and 2.8 ± 1.3 in the intervention group ( P = 0.03), and there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups. In addition, based on the repeated measure test, there was no significant difference between the two groups. ODI value was before surgery 31.7 ± 8.3 ( P = 0.77), 5.2 ± 2.4 ( P = 0.9) at 1 month after surgery, and 4.5 ± 1.8 ( P = 0.6) at 6 months after surgery, and there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion: Dexamethasone and bupivacaine can be effective in post-operation pain control, although this difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.

Background: Surgery is a well-known and effective method of treating lumbar intervertebral disc herniation. The present study aimed to compare the effects of administering tranexamic acid (TXA), nitroglycerin (NTG), and remifentanil (REF) on hemorrhage prevention during herniated lumbar intervertebral disc surgery. Methods: A double-blind clinical trial was conducted on 135 participants undergoing lumbar intervertebral disc surgery. A randomized block design was used for subject assignment to three groups including TXA, NTG, and REF. The hemodynamic parameters, bleeding rate, hemoglobin level, and the amount of infused propofol were measured and recorded after surgery. Data were then analyzed in SPSS software using Chi-square test and analysis of variance. Results: The mean age of participants in the study was 42.12 ± 7.93 years, and all three groups were equal in terms of demographic characteristics ( P > 0.05). The mean arterial pressure (MAP) of the TXA and NTG groups was notably higher than the REF group ( P < 0.008). The mean heart rate (HR) of the TXA and NTG groups was notably higher than the REF group ( P < 0.05). The propofol dosage used in the TXA group was higher than the two groups of NTG and REF ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: Among participants undergoing lumbar intervertebral disc surgery, the greatest MAP variability was observed in the NTG group. Higher mean HR and propofol consumption was observed in the NTG and TXA groups when compared to REF. No statistically significant differences were noted between groups in oxygen saturation or bleeding risk. Based on these findings, REF may be considered a preferred surgical adjunct over TXA and NTG during lumbar intervertebral disc surgery.

Introduction: Blood loss management in craniotomy is essential for a patient's haemodynamic stability and a significantly better view of the surgical site. The study aimed to address the comparative efficacy of labetalol (LAB), remifentanil (REM) and dexmedetomidine (DXM) on the bleeding control during the craniotomy procedure. Materials and Methods: In a double-blind trial, ninety patients eligible for undergoing craniotomy were recruited and assigned to DXM, LAB and REM groups by the block-randomised method. The vital signs, including heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure, and oxygen saturation (SaO2) after induction and during the hypotension phase every 15 min until the end of surgery and at recovery and certain time points (2, 4 and 6 h post-operative), were recorded. The amount of bleeding, surgeon satisfaction and dose of propofol used, side effects and haemoglobin level before and 12 h after surgery were registered. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS software by one-way analysis of variance, repeated measurement test and Chi-square test at a significance level of 0.05. Results: No significant difference was found in vital signs, including SaO2, blood pressure, HR, duration of surgery, extubation time and the amount of propofol consumed, side effects and haemoglobin level (P > 0.05). Nevertheless, the DXM group showed a prolonged recovery time (P = 0.018), less bleeding (P = 0.001) and the highest surgeon satisfaction (P = 0.001) when compared with other groups. Conclusion: Our results showed that DXM helps increase surgeon satisfaction and reduce bleeding while increasing the recovery time. Overall, it does, however, have improved performance without any side effects, based on which DXM can hence be recommended to be used to control bleeding during craniotomy.