• M Messina, S Magrin, E Bignami, G Maj, A Carozzo, R Mennella, G Landoni, and A Zangrillo.
• Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, San Raffaele Vita-Salute University, Milan, Italy.
• Minerva Anestesiol. 2009 Jan 1;75(1-2):7-12.

BackgroundThe authors performed a study to evaluate if the onset time, duration of sensory block, and quality of postoperative analgesia in superficial cervical plexus anesthesia with 0.5% levobupivacaine (1 mg/kg) was greater than 0.75% ropivacaine (1.5 mg/kg).MethodsDesignrandomized, double-blind study.SettingUniversity teaching hospital.Participants28 consecutive patients undergoing elective carotid thromboendoarterectomy were randomized into two groups.Interventionspatients received either 1 mg/kg of 0.5% levobupivacaine (N.=15), or 1.5 mg/kg of 0.75% ropivacaine (N.=13). We assessed the onset time (pinprick test), duration of sensory block, and postoperative analgesia with the two drugs.ResultsOnset time of sensory block was 20+/-6 min with ropivacaine and 29+/-8 min with levobupivacaine (P=0.003). Intraoperatively we used different total doses of lidocaine, with the median (interquartile range) dose of 50 (40-100) mg for ropivacaine and 130 (60-180) mg for levobupivacaine (P=0.05). The first pain medication was requested after 12+/-0.4 h by ropivacaine patients and after 11+/-1.6 h by levobupivacaine patients (P=0.5).ConclusionNo beneficial effect was noted in the quality of nerve block or patient's satisfaction for 0.5% levobupivacaine when compared to 0.75% ropivacaine.

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