Comparative Effectiveness of Combined Lumbar- Para Sacral Nerve Block and Spinal Anaesthesia on the Pain Intensity and Duration of Anaesthesia in Patients with Tibial Fracture

Background: the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of combined lumbar plexus– para sacral nerve block (lp/nb) and spinal anaesthesia (sa) on the duration and intensity of postoperative pain in patients with tibia fracture requiring surgery. methods: in this clinical trial, 40 patients with tibial fractures requiring surgery, who were admitted to a referral hospital in north-eastern iran from 2020 to 2021, and randomly subjected to lp/nb or spinal anaesthesia. pain intensity and duration of anaesthesia in the two groups were compared based on a numerical rating scale within 4, 6 and 12 hours from the induction of anaesthesia. clinical demand for analgesics following surgery was also recorded. data were statistically analysed with ibm spss. results: the mean age of participants was 37.4 ±14.4, with 29 (72.5%) and 11 (27.5%) male and female patients, respectively. there were no significant differences in age and sex ratio between the two groups. the mean pain intensity within 4 hours from surgery was lower in the lp/nb group, however, this difference was not statistically significant (p-value: 0.054). likewise, there were also no significant differences between the values reported for 6 (p-value: 0.303) and 12-hour (p-value: 0.523) post-surgery pain intensity for each group. overall, the mean pain intensity at any given time was not significantly different between the two groups of lp/nb and sa (p-value: 0.671). conclusion: there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of mean pain intensity at 4, 6 and 12 hours after the onset of the block. no side effects were observed in any of the patients.