Comparison of Local Anesthetic Effect of Bupivacaine versus Bupivacaine plus Dexamethasone in Nasal Surgery

  Introduction: Adequate pain control is an important consideration in the post-surgical management of patients. Local nerve blockade added to general anesthesia can provide excellent pain control during and after most nasal surgical procedures. The aim of this study was to determine the combined effect of local anesthetic drugs with corticosteroids in nasal surgery. Materials and Methods: In this double-blind clinical study, 60 patients who underwent different nasal surgical procedures were matched and divided into two equal groups. Bilateral local nerve blockade was used in both groups. Bupivacaine or bupivacaine plus dexamethasone was administered by injection (groups B and B+D, respectively). Postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) pain values and the need for oral/intramuscular analgesic treatment in the first 24 h were recorded in all patients. Results: Thirty-eight male (63.3%) and 22 female (36.7%) patients were included in this study, with a mean age of 28.3 ± 8.2 years. At 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12 h post surgery, VAS pain values were significantly lower in the B+D group than in the B group. The analgesic requirement was significantly lower in the B+D group compared with the B group. No relevant complications were seen during surgery or postoperative hospitalization. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the positive effect of a combination of a dexamethasone with a bupivacaine in reducing pain and the need for analgesic drugs after different nasal surgeries. No acute or short-term post-surgical complications were observed in this study.