Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention
Published on: October 16, 2013
Efficacy of caudal butorphanol
Vinita Singh1, Ashish Kanaujia, G P Singh
1Department of Anesthesiology, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India. vinitasingh70@indiatimes.com
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy of butorphanol with or without bupivacaine for caudal epidural anesthesia in children undergoing infraumbilical surgery.
Methods:
Sixty ASA physical status I and II patients of either sex aged 1-10 yr were randomized to one of three groups. Group L received 1 ml/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine; Group B received 1 ml/kg of 25 microg/kg butorphanol diluted in normal saline; and Group LB received 1 ml/kg of 25 microg/kg butorphanol in combination with 0.25% bupivacaine, in caudal epidural anesthesia. Hemodynamic variables (HR and MAP) and respiratory rate were monitored in all patients. Sedation score, pain score and requirement of rescue analgesia were recorded at preset time intervals alongwith post-operative complications.
Results:
There was no difference among the groups regarding sedation scores, requirement of rescue analgesia and post-operative complications. Mean duration of analgesia was maximum in group BL (14.5 +/- 3.5 hr, P<0.001), than in group L (8.8 +/- 4.8 hr) and group B (6.8 +/- 2.9 hr).
Conclusion:
The addition of 25 microg/kg butorphanol to bupivacaine resulted in superior analgesia with a longer period compared with caudal bupivacaine and butorphanol alone, without an increase of side effects.
Related Concept Videos
Opioid Analgesics: Synthetic and Semisynthetic Opioids
Dose-Response Relationship: Potency and Efficacy
Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview
Depolarizing Blockers: Pharmocokinetics
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...