In patients experiencing surgery for thoracolumbar spine, epidural ropivacaine plus dexmedetomidine displayed superior efficacy concerning postoperative pain relief and patient satisfaction scores as compared to ropivacaine alone. 

This study was conducted to compare the efficacy of epidural ropivacaine with and without dexmedetomidine on postoperative pain relief after the thoracolumbar spine instrumentation. 

Overall, 60 adult subjects (age group of 18-65 years) who were planned to undertake thoracolumbar spine instrumentation were allocated to either Group RD (epidural ropivacaine plus dexmedetomidine) or Group R (epidural ropivacaine plus saline).

The total rescue analgesic usage on days 0, 1, and 2 of the operation were compared. Total patient satisfaction scores and time to first rescue analgesia via the VAS score <4 were examined.

No change between the demographic features of the two groups was found. The mean value of total rescue analgesia usage, mean time to first rescue analgesia, and mean patient satisfaction score RD group and R group as shown in the following Table 1:

During the postoperative phase, no patient exhibited any respiratory depression or sustained motor blockade.

The surgery of the thoracolumbar spine is linked with acute postoperative pain. The efficacy of epidural dexmedetomidine in spine operations has rarely been reported. Given the safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine, the decreased rescue analgesia usage, enhanced analgesia period, and decreased pain scores, this study too portrayed a combination of epidural ropivacaine and dexmedetomidine to be more effective for the thoracolumbar spine than ropivacaine alone.