A comparison of postoperative analgesia provided by caudal block or wound infiltration in children following herniorrhaphy [COCUKLARDA INGUINAL HERNILERDE KAUDAL BLOK VE INFILTRASYON UYGULAMALARININ POSTOPERATIF AGRI TEDAVISINDE KARSILASTIRILMASI]

In this study, it was aimed to compare the efficacy of caudal blockade and wound instillation for postoperative pain relief after inguinal herniorrhaphy in children. Ninety patients were included in this study. No preoperative or intraoperative opiates were administered. All the patients were divided into two groups. Wound instillation and caudal block were applied with 0.5 mL/kg of 0.25 % bupivacaine in group I (n=30) and in group II (n=60), respectively. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR) and peripheral O2 saturation (SpO2) were recorded every 15 minutes during the first hour in the recovery room after the patients awakening. Using pediatric objective pain scale, pain was assessed at 15th min and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th hours postoperatively. Patients in both groups were comparable with regard to age, weight and the duration of surgery. SBP, DBP, HR and SpO2 were found to be similar in the groups. There were no statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to postoperative pain scores and the need for administration of analgesic drug. There were not adverse effects observed with any of these blocks. In conclusion, we considered that both wound instillation and caudal block provided effective postoperative analgesia following inguinal herniorrhaphy in children