A Comparative Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Butorphanol as an Adjuvant to Epidural Analgesia for Rib Fractures

Abstract

Introduction: Pain management via epidural catheters have emerged as an optimal method of pain control in patients with rib fractures (RF). This study was done to evaluate the efficacy of butorphanol in this subset of patients. Materials and methods: Sixty patients were randomly allocated in two groups R (ropivacaine only) and B (ropivacaine with butorphanol). Group R patients received 0.2% ropivacaine epidurally (10 mL) while group B patients received 0.2% ropivacaine and 1 mg butorphanol epidurally (10 mL). Baseline respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), visual analog score (VAS), peak inspiratory flow rate (PIFR) were noted in both the groups. Results: There was significant increase in duration of analgesia and nonsignificant reduction in VAS score in group B, and nonsignificant decrease in invasive ventilation cases and significant reduction in length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay in group B. There were no significant adverse effects in both the groups except for nausea in group B. Conclusion: Butorphanol as an adjuvant to epidural analgesia leads to better oxygenation, decrease in length of ICU stay and duration of mechanical ventilation without increase in significant side effects.