Safety and Analgesic Efficacy of General Versus Caudal Block in Pediatric Infra Umbilical Surgery

Background: Caudal analgesia has become popular in the management of intraoperative and postoperative pain management, further with the use of adjuvants to prolong its duration each with varying results. Caudal block is the most preferred postoperative analgesia in pediatrics, despite its limited duration of action. Many additives are used to improve the effectiveness of caudal blocks, such as opioids or a2 agonists. Recently, the use of caudal dexamethasone as an analgesic after surgery has increased. Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and analgesic efficacy of general versus caudal block in pediatric infra umbilical surgery. Methods: This is an observational study. This study was carried out on 50 patients the find out about the population including children in the Department of Anaesthesia, Uttara Adhunik Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The duration of the period from January 2022 to December 2022. Statistical evaluation of the results used to be got via the use of a window-based computer software program devised with Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS-24). Results: The mean duration of postoperative analgesia was 3 times longer in Bupivacaine with preservative free Clonidine Group. Bupivacaine solution Group received significantly more doses of rescue analgesic than Bupivacaine with preservative free Clonidine Group (p-value of 0.004). There was no significant bradycardia, hypotension, sedation or urinary retention in either of the groups. There was no residual motor blockade at 6 hours. Incidence of vomiting was similar in both the groups. Conclusion: Dexamethasone in combination with bupivacaine reduces postoperative pain intensity and total analgesic consumption and prolongs analgesia.