The practice of foreign body removal from the ear, nose, and upper esophageal in children in Ethiopia: A retrospective descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Ear, nose, and upper esophageal foreign body (FB) impaction in children is a common emergency in-hospital service. There are no clear guidelines regarding the management of ingested FBs. This study aimed to determine the FB in terms of type, anatomic site, management outcome, and associated complications. METHODS: Retrospective study of children with ear, nose, and upper esophageal FB managed under general anesthesia (GA) at operating room of Wolkite Hospital in the southern part of Ethiopia between January 2019 and February 2021. Data were collected from the medical chart of the patients using a prepared checklist. The parameters included were age, sex, FB anatomic site, type, management outcome, and associated complications related to FB or procedure modalities. RESULTS: A total of 169 (31.4%) study subjects were required GA for the removal of FBs. The mean age was 4.45 ± 3.20 years. Under 5 years old children comprises 61.5% of total cases. The most common anatomic site of FB impaction was in the ear 97 (57.4%). The most commonly found type of FB was cereals or seeds, which constituted 102 (60.35%). The complication rate was 18.35%. Epistaxis was the commonest complication (6.51%) from the nose while canal abrasion (5.92%) was common from the ear. CONCLUSION: Ear, nose, and upper esophageal FBs were found more frequently in younger children. The ear was the most common anatomic site of FB impaction followed by the nose and upper esophageal. The most common type of FB was cereals or seeds. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.

The use of perineural dexamethasone and transverse abdominal plane block for postoperative analgesia in cesarean section operations under spinal anesthesia: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: During transverses abdominal plane block (TAP) procedure to provide analgesia in cesarean section (CS) operation, the use of perineural dexamethasone as an additive agent may improve pain relief and may cause a prolonged block duration. This study aims to investigate whether perineural dexamethasone, when added to bupivacaine local anesthetic agent during a TAP block, may provide adequate pain relief without adverse events. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study of fifty-eight patients undergoing elective CS with spinal anesthesia. We hypothesized to perform bilateral TAP block using perineural dexamethasone as an additive agent. The patients were randomly divided into two groups using a systematic random sampling method. While one group of patients received perineural dexamethasone of 8 mg additive agent together with bupivacaine 0.25% 40 ml (Group TAPD), the other group received only bupivacaine 0.25% 40 ml in TAP block (Group TAPA). The primary outcomes are the period for the first request of postoperative pain relief medication and the numerical rating scale (NRS) pain intensity scores at 2, 6, 12, and 24 h after surgery. The secondary outcomes are comparing the 24-h tramadol and diclofenac analgesic requirements and the incidences of side effects on postoperative day one. A p-value of < 0.05 is statistically significant. RESULTS: The time to first analgesic request was 8.5 h (8.39-9.79) in the TAPD group versus 5.3 h (5.23-5.59) in the TAPA group, respectively. (p < 0.001) The median NRS scores were significantly reduced in the TAPD group compared to the TAPA group at 6, 12, and 24 h after surgery (p-values < 0.001). The total analgesics consumption over 24 h postoperatively was lower in Group TAPD compared to Group TAPA (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: An additive agent of perineural dexamethasone at a dose of 8 mg during bilateral TAP block for elective CS operation under spinal anesthesia provided better pain relief on postoperative day 1.

Caudal block with rectal diclofenac and paracetamol for pediatrics infra umbilical surgery at a comprehensive specialized teaching hospital in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Caudal block is a common regional technique performed for infra umbilical surgery in pediatrics. Its limited duration of analgesia remains a gap in routine clinical practice. This study aimed to assess the analgesic effectiveness of caudal block with rectal diclofenac or rectal paracetamol among pediatric patients who underwent infra umbilical surgery. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on patients aged 1-10 years that underwent elective infra umbilical surgery. Patients were allocated into the Caudal block with rectal Diclofenac, Caudal block with rectal Paracetamol, and Caudal block alone groups based on a postoperative pain management plan. Analysis of variance was used for normally distributed data and the Kruskal Wallis H test was used for non-normally distributed. The Tukey for post hoc test was used to compare the difference between groups one with the others. Categorical data were analyzed by using Pearson Chi-squared or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. A p-value < 0.05 considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: The postoperative median pain score was lower in CD compared to CP and CA group (p-value < 0.001) at the 4th and 8th hour. Time to first analgesic request was significantly longer within CD 735 (540-1200 min) compared to CP 445 (240-840 min p = 0.029) and CA 315 (240-720 min p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The pain score and total postoperative analgesic consumption were significantly reduced in addition to prolonged-time to request the first analgesia in the CD group compared to CA and CP group.