Add dexmedetomidine to levobupivacaine for transversus abdominis plane block in elderly patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair: Could it make a difference? A randomised trial.

Background: Transversus abdominis plane block is becoming more common as part of multimodal analgesia for post-abdominal operation pain relief. This study compared the analgesic effects of adding dexmedetomidine to levobupivacaine (transversus abdominis plane) block in elderly patients undergoing inguinal hernia surgery to adding fentanyl.

Methods: Overall, 90 elderly patients with a simple inguinal hernia repair were randomly assigned to one of three groups.