Caudal anesthesia as an alternative for the correction of anorectal defets in children.

Abstract

Anorectal malformations are among the most common congenital malformations in children, occurring at a fre- quency of 2-5 per 10,000 births. Surgical correction for anorectal malformations is a significant operation, ac- companied by severe pain. Of the 35 children included in the study, 10 children were assigned to group I (general anesthesia) and 25 children to group II (general anesthesia + caudal block). Hemodynamic parameters during surgery in the group of general anesthesia + caudal block were more stable than in group I (general anesthesia). There was no significant difference in the incidence of side effects (including laryngospasm, restlessness, nausea and vomiting) be- tween the two groups I (33%) vs II (24.2%,). When as- sessing postoperative pain using the FLACC scale, it was found that in the group of general anesthesia + caudal block, pain appeared only 6 hours after surgery than in the group of general anesthesia (1 hour after surgery), but there were significant differences between the two groups after 12 and 24 hours after the operation was absent. General anesthesia in combination with a caudal block is an effective, safe method of anesthesia for complex sur- gical interventions for anorectal malformations in new- borns and young children. This technique allows to reduce the duration of the operation and improves the postoperative period.

Keywords

• anorectal defects
• caudal anesthesia
• general anesthesia.