Apnoea in a former preterm infant after caudal bupivacaine with clonidine for inguinal herniorrhaphy.
Awake regional anaesthesia for inguinal hernia repair in former preterm infants is suggested to avoid life-threatening respiratory complications known to occur after general anaesthesia. Caudal anaesthesia is becoming a more popular technique for this purpose. To prolong duration of anaesthesia and to reduce postoperative need for analgesics in these infants, caudal clonidine has been considered useful. We report a former preterm infant, who had two awake caudal anaesthetics for herniotomy within 3 weeks. The first was uneventful with bupivacaine 0.25% at 35 weeks postconceptional age. At 38 weeks, the baby suffered form intra- and postoperative apnoeas after inadvertent administration of bupivacaine 0.125% plus clonidine.
D000763:Anesthesia, Caudal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019162:Anesthetics, Combined / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001049:Apnea / Q000139:chemically induced*; D002045:Bupivacaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003000:Clonidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000151:congenital / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000139:chemically induced; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000139:chemically induced
D019162:Anesthetics, Combined; D003000:Clonidine; D002045:Bupivacaine