Comparison of Hyperbaric Levobupivacaine and Hyperbaric Bupivacaine for Spinal Anaesthesia in Infraumbilical Procedures: A Double-blind Randomised Clinical Trial

Introduction: Spinal anaesthesia remains a preferred technique for infraumbilical surgeries due to its simplicity, rapid onset, and stable perioperative profile. Levobupivacaine, the levoenantiomer of bupivacaine, offers comparable anaesthetic efficacy with improved cardiovascular safety. Aim: To compare the hyperbaric levobupivacaine and hyperbaric racemic bupivacaine in patients undergoing elective infraumbilical surgeries. Materials and Methods: The present randomised, double-blind, clinical study conducted at a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital Government Medical College, Gondia, Maharashtra, India. Hyperbaric levobupivacaine and hyperbaric racemic bupivacaine were compared in patients undergoing elective infraumbilical surgeries 62 American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) I-II patients aged 18-60 years were randomly allocated into two groups (n=31 each) to receive 3 mL of 0.5% hyperbaric levobupivacaine (Group L) or 3 mL of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine (Group B) intrathecally. Sensory and motor block characteristics, duration of anaesthesia, effective analgesia, ambulation time, and adverse events were analysed using the Independent t-test or MannWhitney U test for continuous variables and the Chi-square test for categorical variable, with p0.05). The onset of sensory and motor block was significantly faster with bupivacaine (5.41±1.05 min and 3.09±0.83 min, respectively) than with levobupivacaine (6.29±1.27 min and 3.74±0.85 min; p