Postoperative epidural analgesia for pediatric spine surgery

The safety of epidural infusion for postoperative analgesia in pediatric spine surgery continues to be established. A continuous epidural infusion of morphine sulfate and bupivacaine was used for postoperative analgesia in 12 pediatric patients undergoing spinal surgery. The epidural was placed intraoperatively by the operating surgeon, while continuous infusion was managed postoperatively by a pediatric anesthesiology pain service team. In addition to the continuous infusion, 2 of the 12 also were provided on-demand patient-controlled boluses via epidural catheter for breakthrough pain. Patients experienced analgesia as documented by a comprehensive pain scale form. No catheters failed, while side effects were minimal and easily managed. These results provide confirmation of the safety and efficacy of continuous epidural infusion for postoperative analgesia following pediatric spine surgery and evidence that patient-controlled epidural analgesia is an option.