ABSTRACT
Background: Pain following surgery in children cause discomfort, restlessness and agitation in the postoperative period which may result in an increased incidence of nausea, vomiting and maladaptive behavioural changes. Regional anaesthesia is commonly used as an adjunct to general anaesthesia for perioperative analgesia in children as part of a multimodal approach of pain relief. This study is to compare between caudal epidural block and popliteal nerve block for postoperative analgesia in children undergoing foot surgery.Methods: A prospective randomized single blind study was carried out on 30 children aged 1-12 years of either sex undergoing foot surgery. Patients were randomly assigned into caudal epidural block group and Popliteal nerve block group, 15 children each. Both groups receive 1 ml/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine. Foot surgery was carried out under general anesthesia along with regional block for all children. After completion of surgery, children were shifted to PACU and HR, BP, SPO2 were monitored. Patient was discharged from PACU after CHEOPS (1-5 years) or VAS (6-12 years) <4. Parental satisfaction, sedation score, PONV, and any other side effects were recorded.Results: Demographic data and baseline vital signs were comparable between two groups. Statistically significant difference (p=0.025) in number of attempts in giving block in group A (1.20±0.41) than group B (1.80±0.86). The mean postoperative pain scores, CHEOPS and VAS were comparable in both groups.Conclusions: Both caudal epidural block and popliteal nerve block provides comparable and adequate analgesia in children undergoing elective foot surgery.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cholecystectomy is one of the commonest general surgical operations. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is currently the most favoured approach. As it is associated with less postoperative pain and ileus, it allows early discharge of patients from the hospital. Studies from the West have reported that 'day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy' is feasible and safe. In India, the current practice is to admit patients for laparoscopic cholecystectomy 24-48 hours prior to surgery and to discharge most patients within one to two days of surgery. There is no report from any Indian centre describing 'day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy'. We conducted a prospective study to assess the feasibility, safety and patients' acceptance of 'day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy' in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: Eighty-four patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis, aged less than 65 years with ASA grade I and II, were offered day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Seventy-four patients consented to be included in the study. The nature of operation and likely postoperative course were explained in detail to the patients. Conventional 4-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy was attempted in all patients. The main outcome measures assessed were successful management of patients on day case basis and its acceptance by the patients. RESULTS: Sixty-eight (92%) patients underwent successful laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Fifty-five of these (81%) were successfully managed as day case procedures. There were no major complications. Three of the 55 patients (5.4%) needed re-admission and could be managed conservatively. Fifty-three (96%) patients described their experience as 'pleasant'. None of them described their experience to be 'unpleasant' or 'bad'. Fifty-four (98%) patients stated that they would recommend day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy to close friends and relatives. CONCLUSION: In selected patients, day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy is safe and feasible in a developing country.