Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 19, 283-289, Copyright © 1972 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

Diazepam as an Adjuvant Agent in Regional Anaesthesia

¹ Department of Anaesthesia, Hôpital St-Ambroise de Loretteville, P.Q.

A study is describded in which 192 patients, randomly assigned to one of four groups, received one of four treatment regimens involving either meperidine or diazepam, or a combination of both, as preparation for surgical operations with epidural anaesthesia. The four regimens are described in detail in the text. Vital signs were measured, and a series of eight behavioural factors were measured at regular stages of the procedure. An Analysis of Variance was performed. Group III, which had received only diazepam, one hour pre-operatively and immediately preceding the epidural injection, was judged the best, both on the basis of the scoring system used for the behavioural factors and of clinical observations. It is our conclusion that the diazepam group was the best prepared for the total procedure, and offered the least resistance to the idea of remaining conscious, by use of epidural anaesthesia, during a surgical operation.