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Postoperative analgesia via transversus abdominis plane (TAP) catheter for small weight children-our initial
Mihaela Visoiu1, Karen R Boretsky, Gagandeep Goyal
1Department of Anesthesiology, The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA. m_visoiu@yahoo.com
Insights
Unilateral transversus abdominis plane (TAP) catheters offer effective pain relief for infants and children undergoing lower abdominal surgery. This method provides low pain scores and minimal need for rescue analgesics, proving feasible for pediatric patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Anesthesiology
- Pain Management
- Surgical Analgesia
Background:
- Pain management in pediatric patients, especially neonates and infants, presents significant challenges.
- Epidural analgesia may be undesirable or contraindicated in certain pediatric surgical scenarios.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of unilateral transversus abdominis plane (TAP) catheters for postoperative analgesia.
- To assess pain scores and analgesic requirements in low-weight children following lower abdominal surgery.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of six low-weight children who underwent unilateral open lower abdominal surgery.
- Placement of unilateral transversus abdominis plane (TAP) catheters for analgesia.
- Monitoring of pain scores and use of rescue analgesic medications.
Main Results:
- Successful placement of all attempted unilateral TAP catheters.
- Resultant low postoperative pain scores were achieved.
- Minimal requirement for rescue analgesic medications was observed.
- No catheter-related complications were reported.
Conclusions:
- Unilateral transversus abdominis plane (TAP) catheters are a feasible option for providing analgesia in very small patients undergoing lower abdominal wall surgery.
- Despite technical challenges, TAP catheters can effectively manage pain postoperatively in pediatric populations.
- This technique offers a viable alternative when epidural analgesia is not preferred.
Abstract:
Pain management in small infants and children is challenging. We report the use of unilateral transversus abdominis plane (TAP) catheters for analgesia following single-sided open lower abdominal surgery when epidural analgesia was undesirable in a series of six low-weight children. Data collection was done via a retrospective chart review. All catheters attempted were successfully placed with resultant low pain scores and the minimal use of rescue analgesic medications. No complications were reported related to these catheters. TAP catheters, although technically challenging, are feasible for the provision of analgesia for surgeries involving the lower abdominal wall in very small patients.
