Bias 2014.

Methods	Parallel group RCT.
Participants	In India, 50 ASA class I‐II participants aged 15 to 54 years undergoing upper limb surgeries with supraclavicular block. Participants classified as ASA III to IV and those with infection at the block site, with comorbidities, coagulopathies and hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs were excluded.
Interventions	Block All participants underwent supraclavicular block with ropivacaine 0.5% 30 ml using landmarks. Dexamethasone/placebo Dexamethasone group: dexamethasone 8 mg perineurally. Placebo group: normal saline 2 ml perineurally. Intraoperative anaesthesia/analgesia Midazolam IV 1 mg was administered to all participants. Postoperative analgesia Diclofenac IM was administered when the participant reported pain.
Outcomes	Outcomes of interest for the review Duration of sensory block defined as time interval between onset of sensory block to the time when participant first complains of pain at the site of surgery. Duration of motor block defined as interval between the time of loss of finger movements to the time the participant first regains finger movements. Intensity of pain assessed on a 5‐point VAS. Other outcomes Onset of sensory block defined as the time interval between administration of local anaesthetic to complete analgesia of forearm in relation to the distrubution of each major nerve as tested by pinprick over the forearm between elbow and wrist. Onset of motor block defined as time interval between administration of local anaesthetic to the time when finger movements are lost completely.
Notes	Funding: no information provided. Conflicts of interest: no information provided.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	No indication of how random sequence was generated.
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	No indication of how group allocation was concealed.
Blinding of participants (detection bias)	Unclear risk	No indication whether participants were blinded.
Blinding of personnel (detection bias)	Unclear risk	No indication whether personnel were blinded.
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	No indication whether outcome assessors were blinded.
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	No missing outcome data.
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	High risk	Haemodynamic variables which could potentially be an indicator of adverse events were not reported as stated.
Other bias	Low risk	Appears to be free of any other bias.