Clonidine as an adjuvant to local anaesthetics prolongs the postoperative analgesia. It is predominantly an alpha 2 agonist, but does have some alpha 1 activity. Clonidine alone produces analgesia. When administered centrally its effects are predominantly due to its alpha 2 activity. When administered peripherally it prolongs the analgesia through its vasoconstrictor effects and by reducing the clearance of local anaesthetic. Another possibility is that it prolongs analgesia of peripheral nerve blocks due to a hyperpolarisation current .Clonidine has been used successfully both for upper and lower limb blocks. Studies of clonidine for lower limb blocks have produced equivocal results . A major concern with the lower limb blocks is the risk of falls associated with prolonged motor blockade during early mobilisation. Clonidine has been shown to intensify and prolong the motor blockade produced by long acting local anaesthetics. Lidocaine when used in combination with clonidine can increase the duration of analgesia to 8-18 hrs. Greater doses of clonidine are associated with longer analgesia but with more side effects. Clonidine in a dose of 90 mcg administered with local anaesthetics can produce analgesia for up to 10 hrs with minimal side effects. The aim of this study is to compare lidocaine 2% + clonidine 1.5mcg/kg with bupivacaine alone in terms of block selectivity for combined sciatic -saphenous nerve block in patients under going semi elective foot/ankle procedures.
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Duration of postoperative sensory and motor block.
Timeframe: 36 hours.