Table 1. Sensory scores for bupivacaine and bupivacaine plus dexmedetomidine.
Sensory scores (Complete blockade sensory score = 3; Normal sensory function = 0) were significantly improved at multiple time points when the bupivacaine plus dexmedetomidine group was compared with the bupivacaine group. Time course data for sensory testing was analyzed using a non-parametric model with ordinal logistic regression for repeated measures and generalized estimating equations.
| Time (min) | Bupivacaine | Bupivacaine + DMET | P value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean ± SEM | Median | 25th IQR | 75th IQR | Mean ± SEM | Median | 25th IQR | 75th IQR | ||
| 30 | 2.94 ± 0.06 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2.63 ± 0.20 | 3 | 2 | 3 | NS |
| 60 | 2.88 ± 0.13 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2.88 ± 0.09 | 3 | 3 | 3 | NS |
| 90 | 2.19 ± 0.31 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2.88 ± 0.09 | 3 | 3 | 3 | NS |
| 120 | 2.00 ± 0.32 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2.88 ± 0.09 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0.016 |
| 150 | 1.44 ± 0.35 | 1.5 | 0 | 3 | 2.56 ± 0.20 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0.006 |
| 180 | 1.38 ± 0.34 | 1.5 | 0 | 3 | 2.00 ± 0.33 | 3 | 0 | 3 | NS |
| 210 | 1.13 ± 0.30 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.75 ± 0.34 | 2 | 0 | 3 | NS |
| 240 | 0.75 ± 0.28 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.50 ± 0.33 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0.012 |
| 270 | 0.44 ± 0.20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.13 ± 0.30 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.005 |
| 300 | 0.19 ± 0.10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.63 ± 0.22 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.047 |
| 330 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.19 ± 0.14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 360 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.06 ± 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 390 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
DMET = dexmedetomidine; IQR = interquartile range; min = minutes; n/a = not applicable; NS = non-significant; p-value < 0.05 deemed significant; SEM = standard error of mean.