Application of wireless ultrasound for guided caudal anesthesia in children undergoing concealed penis surgery

Abstract

ABSTRACT Caudal anesthesia alleviates the strong pain endured by children during surgical treatment for concealed penis. In the traditional method, anesthesiologists identify the puncture point using the ‘blind probe’ method, which leads to anesthesia induction failure in children. Ultrasound has recently gained wide attention for its guidance in peripheral nerve block analgesia. However, the clinical significance of wireless ultrasound – guided caudal anesthesia technology in children remains unexplored. This study investigated the clinical value of wireless ultrasound – guided caudal anesthesia in children undergoing concealed penis surgery. From April 2022 to August 2022, 120 pediatric patients aged 3–10 years were selected for concealed penis surgery. They were divided into the wireless ultrasound – guided sacral block group (group A) and the traditional sacral block group (group B), with 60 children in each group. Children in group A and group B underwent wireless ultrasound – guided caudal anesthesia and traditional caudal anesthesia, respectively. The success rates of the first puncture and total punctures, time taken for the punctures, and number of punctures were compared between the groups. The success rates of the first puncture (95% vs 68.3%) and total puncture (100% vs 90%) were significantly higher in group A than in group B (P<0.05). The average puncture time and the average number of punctures were, respectively, significantly shorter and lesser in group A than in group B (both P<0.05). Compared with the traditional method, wireless ultrasound visualization technology can effectively improve the success rate of sacral block puncture and reduce puncture time, which is worthy of clinical application.