[Post-thoracotomy analgesia in pediatric heart surgery: comparison of 2 different techniques]

The aim of this study was to compare two different post-operative pain control techniques in pediatric patients undergoing thoracotomy with reference to a control group receiving conventional treatment in the form of endovenous morphine. The post-operative antalgic treatment protocol included the random distribution of patients to three groups: control group: endovenous analgesia with morphine boluses; group 1: intrapleural analgesia with bupivacaine boluses; group 2: caudal epidural analgesia in a single bolus with a mix of bupivacaine and morphine. In the comparison it was seen that the method that offered the most effective pain control and fewest collateral effects was caudal peridural analgesia. The authors conclude by suggesting the use of this method and underlining the need to pay greater attention to the problem of postoperative pain in pediatrics.