Comparison between intrathecal hyperbaric bupivacaine and levobupivacaine for ambulatory knee arthroscopy

Table 1 Patient characteristics, duration of surgery and failed spinal blocks (n = 33)

Variables	Group BF	Group LF	Group B	Group L	P value
Gender (M/F)	16/17	13/20	12/21	14/19	0.779
Age (yr)	45 (11)	46 (12)	44 (12)	47 (11)	0.863
Height (cm)	165 (8)	168 (9)	165 (8)	165 (9)	0.664
Weight (kg)	79 (12)	77 (11)	76 (12)	80 (11)	0.253
ASA (I/II)	25/8	22/11	25/8	26/7	0.699
Duration of surgery (min)	50 (40-60)	60 (35-60)	50 (30-60)	55 (40-60)	0.621
Failed spinal block	0	0	1	5a	0.008a

Data are presented as the median (min-max), SD, or frequencies.

^aP < 0.05 compared with Group hyperbaric bupivacaine plus fentanyl (BF), Group hyperbaric levobupivacaine plus fentanyl (LF) and Group hyperbaric bupivacaine (B). L: Hyperbaric levobupivacaine; M: Male; F: Female; ASA: American Society of Anaesthesiologists.

Table 2 Quality of sensory and motor blocks and post-anesthesia care unit variables per group

Variables	Group BF(n = 33)	Group LF(n = 33)	Group B(n = 32)	Group L(n = 28)
Sensory block
Onset to T12 (min)	6 (3-15)	6 (3-15)	6 (3-12)	7 (3-20)e
Highest level of sensory block (dermatome)	T8 (T12-T4)	T10 (T12-T4)	T10 (T12-T4)a	T10 (T12-T4)
Time to maximum sensory block (min)	15 (6-35)	12 (6-50)	13 (6-35)	20 (6-40)c
Sensory regression	192 ± 66	173 ± 53	179 ± 47	154 ± 50a
Motor block
Time to maximum motor block (min)	9 (3-20)	12 (3-25)	9 (3-25)	12 (3-35)
Motor block regression (min)	115 (60-180)	75 (45-165)a	95 (40-150)	63 (35-120)ae
Time to micturition (min)	196 ± 57	174 ± 54	164 ± 45	151 ± 52a
Time to VAS ≥ 4	200 ± 60	156 ± 61a	162 ± 52a	110 ± 48ace
Time to discharge	288 ± 64	260 ± 61	244 ± 54a	229 ± 55a

Data are presented as the median (min-max) or mean ± SD.

^aP < 0.05 compared with Group BF;

^cP < 0.05 compared with Group LF;

^eP < 0.05 compared with Group B. BF: Hyperbaric bupivacaine plus fentanyl; LF: Hyperbaric levobupivacaine plus fentanyl; B: Hyperbaric bupivacaine; L: Hyperbaric levobupivacaine; VAS: Visual Analog Scale.

Table 3 Intraoperative and postoperative outcomes

Variables	Group BF(n = 33)	Group LF(n = 33)	Group B(n = 32)	Group L(n = 28)
Sedation	0	2	3	11c
Patient satisfaction (satisfied/unsatisfied)	33/0	33/0	28/4	24/4a
Surgeon satisfaction (satisfied/unsatisfied)	33/0	33/0	29/3	18/10c

Data shown are the mean ± SD, median (range) or count.

^aP < 0.05 compared with Group hyperbaric bupivacaine plus fentanyl (BF) and Group hyperbaric levobupivacaine plus fentanyl (LF);

^cP < 0.05 compared with Group BF, Group LF, and Group hyperbaric bupivacaine (B). L: Hyperbaric levobupivacaine.

Table 4 Frequency of adverse events n (%)

Adverse events	Group BF(n = 33)	Group LF(n = 33)	Group B(n = 32)	Group L(n = 28)	P value
Hypotension	2 (6)	2 (6)	0	0	0.289
Bradycardia	0	0	0	1 (4)	0.317
Emesis/vomiting	0	1 (3)	0	0	0.417
Shivering	6 (18)	5 (15)	7 (21)	6 (21)	0.894
Pruritus	11 (33)a	10 (30)a	0	1 (4)	< 0.001
Headache	4 (12)	7 (31)	6 (19)	4 (14)	0.754

^aP < 0.05 compared with Group L and Group B. BF: Hyperbaric bupivacaine plus fentanyl; LF: Hyperbaric levobupivacaine plus fentanyl; B: Hyperbaric bupivacaine; L: Hyperbaric levobupivacaine.