Levobupivacaine versus racemic bupivacaine for spinal anesthesia

Levobupivacaine is the pure S(-)-enantiomer of racemic bupivacaine but is less toxic to the heart and central nervous system. Although it has recently been introduced for routine obstetric and nonobstetric epidural anesthesia, comparative clinical studies on its intrathecal administration are not available. We therefore performed this prospective randomized double-blinded study to evaluate the anesthetic potencies and hemodynamics of intrathecal levobupivacaine compared with racemic bupivacaine, Eighty patients undergoing elective hip replacement received either 3.5 mL levobupivacaine 0.5% isobaric or 3.5 mL bupivacaine 0.5% isobaric. Sensory blockade was verified with the pinprick test; motor blockade was documented by using a modified Bromage score. Hemodynamic variables (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, pulse oximetry) were also recorded. Intergroup differences between levobupivacaine and bupivacaine were insignificant both with regard to the onset time and the duration of sensory and motor blockade (11 +/- 6 versus 13 +/- 8 min; 10 +/- 7 versus 9 +/- 7 min; 228 +/- 77 versus 237 +/- 88 min; 280 +/- 84 versus 284 +/- 80 min). Both groups showed slight reductions in heart rate and mean arterial pressure, but there was no intergroup difference in hemodynamics. We conclude that intrathecal levobupivacaine is equal in efficacy to, but less toxic than, racemic bupivacaine.