Analgesic effect of perineurally administered dexamethasone for arthroscopic shoulder surgery under interscalene brachial plexus block

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the analgesic effect of perineural dexamethasone administration for arthroscopic shoulder surgery under interscalene brachial plexus block. Fifty-two patients scheduled for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) were enrolled in this study. We used 10 ml of 1％ mepivacaine and 10 ml of 0.75％ ropivacaine for all patients. The patients were divided into two groups: C group, 26 patients without dexamethasone administration, and D group, 26 patients with 6.6 mg of perineurally administered dexamethasone. The median age, operation time, and number of suture anchors were not significantly different between the two groups. Induction time (IT), effectiveness of the nerve block, anesthesia effect time (AET), and adverse events were compared. The median IT, effectiveness of the nerve block, and AET in the C and D groups were 11 vs. 12 min, 100％ vs. 100％，and 494 min vs. 746 min, respectively. AET was significantly longer in the D group. Adverse events were absent in both groups. Perineural dexamethasone administration as an anesthetic agent was effective for postoperative pain management in arthroscopic shoulder surgery.