Title

A prospective study comparing magnesium sulphate versus clonidine as adjuvants to epidural bupivacaine for lower limb and lower abdominal surgeries

Authors

Narayan Hari Sharma^1,*, Neetesh Gautam¹ & Irfan Khan²

Affiliation

¹Department of Anaesthesiology, Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India; ²Department of Anaesthesiology, Janak Hospital, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Narayan Hari Sharma - E-mail: narayanhari.sharma@gmail.com
Neetesh Gautam - E-mail: neeteshgautamgrmc@gmail.com
Irfan Khan - E-mail: khanirfan.260@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received May 1, 2026; Revised May 31, 2026; Accepted May 31, 2026, Published May 31, 2026

Abstract

Epidural anesthesia is widely used for lower limb and abdominal surgeries due to its ability to provide effective intraoperative anesthesia and prolonged post-operative analgesia with stable hemodynamics. Adjuvants such as magnesium sulphate, an NMDA receptor antagonist and clonidine, and α₂-adrenergic agonist, can enhance block quality through distinct mechanisms. Hence, this prospective randomized study included 80 adult patients (ASA I–II) undergoing elective lower limb or abdominal surgery under epidural anesthesia, divided into two groups of 40 each: Group M received magnesium sulphate and Group C received clonidine added to bupivacaine. Parameters evaluated included onset and duration of sensory and motor block, sedation, side effects and hemodynamic changes. Magnesium sulphate produced a faster onset of block, while clonidine resulted in prolonged analgesia and motor block, with mild hypotension and bradycardia observed more frequently. Thus, we show that both agents safely optimize epidural anesthesia magnesium for quicker onset and clonidine for extended pain control depending on surgical needs.

Keywords

Epidural anaesthesia, magnesium sulphate, clonidine, bupivacaine, post-operative analgesia, adjuvant drugs

Citation

Sharma et al. Bioinformation 22(5): 3115-3119 (2026)

Edited by

Vini Mehta

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.