ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Sevoflurane is widely used for paediatric anaesthesia. However, many cases of emergence agitation after sevoflurane anaesthesia have been reported and pain was suggested as a major contributing factor. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of sub-Tenon lidocaine injection on emergence agitation in children receiving sevoflurane or propofol-remifentanil anaesthesia. METHODS: We enrolled 260 children, aged 4-10 years, who were scheduled for strabismus surgery, and randomized them to one of four groups: group SS, SL, BS, and BL. Anaesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane (SS, SL) or propofol-remifentanil infusion (BS, BL). At the end of surgery, the surgeon injected into the sub-Tenon space 1 ml of isotonic saline (SS, BS) or 2% lidocaine (SL, BL). Emergence behaviour was assessed in the post-anaesthesia care unit using a 5-point scoring scale (score 1, asleep; 2, awake and calm; 3, irritable or consolable crying; 4, inconsolable crying; and 5, severe restlessness). We defined a score of 4 or 5 as emergence agitation. The incidence of emergence agitation was analysed using χ² and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: The incidence of emergence agitation in group SL and BL was significantly lower compared to group SS and BS, respectively (P = 0.011, 0.019). The lidocaine-injected group showed significantly lower occurrence of emergence agitation (10.4%) than isotonic saline-injected group (27.2%; P = 0.001). Emergence agitation was significantly higher following sevoflurane (25.0%) than balanced anaesthesia (13.1%; P = 0.023). CONCLUSION: The frequency of emergence agitation is significantly reduced by sub-Tenon lidocaine injection regardless of the modality of anaesthesia used.
