Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Success of Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Anesthesia in Cases with Difficult Anatomy
03:14

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Success of Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Anesthesia in Cases with Difficult Anatomy

Published on: January 31, 2025

482

Spinal anaesthesia in children: A narrative review

Per-Arne Lönnqvist1

  • 1Section of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Best Practice & Research. Clinical Anaesthesiology
|June 15, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Spinal anaesthesia is a safe and effective option for pediatric patients, suitable for both minor and major surgeries. This review highlights its technical aspects, drug choices, and benefits in pediatric anesthesia.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Anesthesiology
  • Regional Anesthesia Techniques

Background:

  • Spinal anesthesia is widely used in adults but less common in pediatric patients.
  • It is applicable to a range of pediatric surgical procedures, from minor to major.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current literature on spinal anesthesia in pediatric patients.
  • To cover technical aspects, drug selection, complications, and neuroendocrine stress response.

Main Methods:

  • Narrative review of existing literature.
  • Synthesis of data regarding pediatric spinal anesthesia.

Main Results:

  • Spinal anesthesia is a viable anesthetic technique for pediatric surgery.
  • Addresses technical considerations, drug choices, and potential complications.

Conclusions:

  • Spinal anesthesia is a safe and effective alternative for pediatric anesthesia.
  • Supports its use in various pediatric surgical contexts.

Keywords:
adjuvantschildlocal anaestheticsregional anaesthesiaspinal

More Related Videos

Spinal Hernia Repair and Cauda Equina Repositioning After Lumbar Decompression under Three-Dimensional Microscopy: A Case Report and Literature Review04:33

Spinal Hernia Repair and Cauda Equina Repositioning After Lumbar Decompression under Three-Dimensional Microscopy: A Case Report and Literature Review

Published on: November 8, 2024

416
Enhancing the Development and Growth of Infant Cerebral Palsy Rats Using Selective Spinal Manipulations05:04

Enhancing the Development and Growth of Infant Cerebral Palsy Rats Using Selective Spinal Manipulations

Published on: February 2, 2024

624

Related Concept Videos

Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia01:11

Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia

Spinal anesthetics are given during lower abdomen and limb surgeries to block sensory and motor neurons. They are administered in the mid to low lumbar regions, primarily acting on the cauda equina's nerve roots. The blockade level depends on the local anesthetic (LA) concentration. Usually, low LA concentrations are sufficient to block sensory fibers, while only high LA concentrations block motor fibers. Other factors like injection volume and speed, the patient's posture, and the drug...
686
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia01:29

Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia

Epidural anesthetics are administered in the fat-filled epidural space, the outermost part of the spinal canal. This technique is commonly employed for pain management and anesthesia during lower abdomen and pelvis surgeries or labor and delivery.
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...
460
General Anesthesia: Overview01:24

General Anesthesia: Overview

Anesthesia is a medical procedure that uses drugs for CNS suppression to enable painless surgeries and procedures. The selection of anesthetics is influenced by their pharmacokinetic properties, side effects, and patient characteristics. Various types of anesthesia include general, local, regional, spinal, and inhalational.
General anesthesia induces unconsciousness in the whole body, while the others target specific areas or sensations. It is administered to minimize adverse effects, maintain...
246
Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview01:24

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

Intravenous anesthetics are drugs administered parenterally to induce anesthesia or sedation. Propofol is a widely used agent formulated as a 1% emulsion in soybean oil, glycerol, and egg phosphatide. It induces rapid anesthesia primarily due to its rapid distribution from the bloodstream to target tissues and is metabolized in the liver. However, it can cause significant pain on injection and hypertriglyceridemia. Fospropofol, a water-based prodrug of propofol, lacks these adverse effects.
162
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Intravenous Regional Anesthesia01:16

Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Intravenous Regional Anesthesia

Intravenous regional anesthesia or the Bier block technique is used to anesthetize a specific limb or extremity. It uses exsanguinated or blood-drained vessels to transport local anesthetics or LAs to the peripheral nerve trunks. Lidocaine without vasoconstrictors like epinephrine is most commonly used for this technique. Other drugs used are prilocaine, ropivacaine, and chloroprocaine. Bupivacaine is not recommended for this technique due to its high cardiac toxicity.
One of the advantages of...
483
Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects01:12

Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects

While local anesthetics are generally safe and well-tolerated, they can occasionally cause adverse effects that vary in severity. Local anesthetics can induce toxicity at two distinct levels. They can either produce local effects through direct contact with the neural elements or be absorbed into the bloodstream from the injection site, leading to systemic effects.
Once absorbed into the systemic circulation, local anesthetics can affect the organs that depend on the functioning of sodium...
458