Extramucosal pylorotomy via the umbilical route under general anesthesia and para-umbilical cord: evaluation of intra- and postoperative analgesia

Abstract

To assess both intra- and postoperative analgesia in infants undergoing extramucosal pylorotomy via a circumumbilical incision under general anaesthesia with neither opioid nor muscle relaxant, associated with a paraumbilical block. Open prospective study covering a 1-year period. The study included 32 infants (age = 1.1 +/- 0.7 months, body weight = 4,427 +/- 876 g). General anaesthesia was induced with either thiopentone or halothane and, after tracheal intubation, maintained with halothane in a N2O-O2 50 vol% mixture. Para-umbilical block was obtained using 0.5 mL.kg-1 of 1% lidocaine with epinephrine. Pain was assessed using time course of respiratory rate, heart rate and mean arterial pressure. A change of more than 20% in one of these variables was considered as criterion for poor analgesia. Intraoperative analgesia was adequate in all patients but one, 3 minutes after incision. Surgical conditions were considered as being good or satisfactory in 76% and 24% of cases, respectively. Postoperative analgesia, assessed 1 and 6 hours after completion of surgery, was convenient in 90% of infants, the end of the action of the local anaesthetic resulting in a poor analgesia at the 6th hour in four of them. Provided a short bevel needle is used and basic safety rules of local anaesthesia are followed, the para-umbilical block provides adequate intra and postoperative analgesia in infants undergoing extramucosal pylorotomy via circumumbilical route.