title: The safety of continuous epidural infusion for postoperative analgesia in pediatric spine surgery.
abstract: Epidural analgesia and anesthesia are standard regional techniques in orthopaedic surgery of the lower extremities. Benefits of epidural anesthetic infusions include excellent analgesia, minimal respiratory depression, no somnolence, and decreased need for blood transfusion. Adverse effects include pruritus, nausea, and urinary retention, but standard methods have evolved to counter each adverse effect. A continuous epidural infusion of opioid and bupivacaine was used as the principal postoperative analgesic for 71 young patients undergoing surgery for the correction of spinal deformity. The infusion was titrated to a point at which each patient denied having any pain and was maintained for an average of 2.9 days. Sixty-four patients experienced satisfactory analgesia with minimal adverse effects. The technique worked despite multiple laminotomies for segmental fixation and did not compromise neurologic assessment. We conclude that epidural analgesia is as safe and effective after spinal-deformity surgery as it is after other types of surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Valley Children's Hospital, Fresno, California 93703, USA.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Merzel
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gerardi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Birek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015360:Analgesia, Epidural / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D000700:Analgesics / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007260:Infusion Pumps; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics