Combination of dexmedetomidine and bupivacaine for caudal anesthesia in children

Abstract

Introduction Caudal anesthesia is one of the most popular, reliable and safe methods of pain relief in children and can provide pain relief for various surgical procedures below the na- vel. Material and Methods The subject of the study was 46 children with physical status I and II class of the American Society of Anesthe- siologists (ASA), aged 0 to 12 years, who underwent elective surgeries below the navel, such as hernia repair, orchiopexy, hypospadias repair, epispadias, etc. Results The duration of caudal analgesia was determined from the moment the anesthetic was injected until the moment the child first complained of pain or the time when the first postoperative analgesia was required. The average duration of postoperative caudal analgesia in patients of group A was 4.21 ± 0.88, while in patients of group B this duration was 10.18 ± 0.85 hours. Conclusion Our results show that the addition of dexmedetomidine to the local anesthetic for caudal block significantly in- creases the duration of analgesia and reduces the need for analgesics. More data is also needed on the neurological safety of dexmedetomidine.

Keywords

• dexmedetomidine
• caudal block
• bupivacaine.