Should We Add Clonidine to Local Anesthetic for Peripheral Nerve Blockade? A Qualitative Systematic Review of the Literature

Clonidine improves duration of analgesia and anesthesia when used as an adjunct to intermediate-acting local anesthetics for some peripheral nerve blocks. Side-effects appear to be limited at doses up to 150 μg. Evidence is lacking for the use of clonidine as an adjunct to local anesthetics for continuous catheter techniques. Further research is required to examine the peripheral analgesic mechanism of clonidine.