Abstract:Objective: To evaluate the analgesic, motor block, and adverse side effects of 0.075% ropiv-acaine or bupivacaine combined with fentanyl in post-operative children. Methods: Sixty children, under combined spinal and epidural block, operated for subabdominal surgery. After operations, they received either 0. 075% ropivacaine or 0. 075% bupivacaine mixed with 0. 0002% fentanyl for postoperative analgesia. Patient-controlled or parent-controlled when necessary, bolus dosage was 2 ml with 20 min lockout time and 3 ml per hour background infusion for the children aged 5 - 9, and of 4 ml per hour for those aged 10-14. Analgesic efficacy within 24 hrs were observed and scaled as excellent analgesia with equal or less than 3 presses, as good with 4-8 presses, and as poor with more than 8 presses. Postoperative nausea, vomiting, headache, pruritus, leg numbness, and urine retention were observed. Results: Cumulative percentage of excellence and good was 97% with ropivacaine, a little higher than 94% with bupivacaine. The occurrence of adverse effects was comparable between the two groups. Motor block with ropivacaine was recorded earlier than that with bupivacaine. Conclusion; Ropivacaine is superior to bupivacaine in postoperative analgesia and in motor recovery and is as safe as bupivacaine.