Assessment of value of epidural magnesium sulfate in postoperative analgesia after lower limb vascular surgery

Objective The aim of the study was to assess the value of epidural magnesium sulfate in postoperative analgesia after lower limb vascular surgery. Patients and methods A total of 80 patients planned for elective lower limb vascular surgery were enrolled in a double-blind comparative study. Their ages were between 30 and 60 years and were of ASA physical status I–III. Patients were randomly distributed into two group: group A (n = 40) included patients who received 100-mg magnesium sulfate in 6 ml normal saline 0.9% plus 4 mg morphine epidurally, and group B (n = 40) had patients who received 4 mg morphine in 6 ml normal saline 0.9% epidurally. Results Regarding demographic data, no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups. No significant difference in pain on visual analogue scale scores at 0 min to 2 h was found between both the groups, but there was a statistically significant lowering in pain on visual analogue scale between both the groups at 2 and 24 h at both rest and on movement. No significant difference between both the groups was found regarding the duration of the motor block. Regarding time to the first request of analgesia, there was a statistically considerable prolongation in group A. Regarding vital signs, there were no statistically significant differences observed between the two groups. Conclusion In the present clinical study, magnesium, which was administered epidurally, appeared to prolong the duration of morphine analgesia without noteworthy adverse effect. Furthermore, epidurally administered magnesium has an excellent safety profile in humans.