ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of pediatric ultrasound guided brachial plexus block anesthesia and to determine the optimal anesthetic drug dosage. METHODS: Ninety-seven children who required elective upper limb surgery were randomly divided into three groups: group A with 32 cases, group B with 35 cases and group C with 30 cases. All three groups of patients underwent ultrasound guided brachial plexus block anesthesia. To compare differences of anesthetic effect, group A received 0.30% ropivacaine, group B received 0.40% ropivacaine, and group C received 0.50% ropivacaine. RESULTS: The total volume was 24 mL in each group. The onset time of ulnar nerve block in Group A was significantly longer than in Group B and Group C (P<0.05); there were no significant differences in onset time of nerve block of the other nerves among the three groups (P>0.05). Block maintenance time in Group A was significantly less than in Group B and Group C (P<0.05). The effective rate of anesthesia of Group A was lower than in Group B and Group C and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of anesthetic complications among the three groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric ultrasound guided brachial plexus block anesthesia is safe and reliable. Ropivacaine used at 0.40% is the optimal lower-concentration anesthetic dosage.
