Comparison of the effects of epidural 0.5% bupivacaine and 0.5% levobupivacaine administration on anesthesia quality, side effect incidence, and analgesia requirement times in hip and lower extremity surgery

Aim: To compare the anesthetic effectiveness of epidural levobupivacaine and bupivacaine without adjuvant medication in patients who were to have elective operations on the lower extremities and hips. Materials and methods: This study was conducted on a total of 70 ASA I-II patients aged between 30 and 70 years, who underwent elective hip and lower extremity operations. The patients that received bupivacaine were assigned to Group B (n = 35) and those that received levobupivacaine to Group L (n = 35). Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of the onset and regression times of the sensory and motor blockade, time to reach dermatomes, initial analgesic requirement time, resolution time of the motor block, patient and surgeon satisfaction, heart rate, noninvasive systolic artery pressure, diastolic artery pressure, mean artery pressure, and peripheral oxygen saturation values (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Levobupivacaine could be a good alternative to bupivacaine in patients administered epidural anesthesia in elective hip and lower extremity operations in terms of hemodynamic parameters, quality of anesthesia and analgesia, patient and surgeon satisfaction, and complications.