Preemptive Caudal Bupivacaine and Morphine for Postoperative Analgesia in Children

We designed this double-blind study to evaluate the efficacy of preemptive epidural bupivacaine and small-dose morphine for postoperative analgesia in children after herniorraphy. Sixty children, ASA physical status I or II, who were undergoing elective hernia repair under general anesthesia were randomly allocated into two groups. Group I (preemptive group) received 0.66 mL/kg 0.25% bupivacaine with morphine 0.02 mg/kg caudally after the induction of anesthesia but 15 min before surgery. Group II (postincisional group) received the same drug mixture after surgery. Pain was assessed using an objective pain scale (OPS). Time to first postoperative analgesics (TFA), the number of supplementary analgesic used, and the amount of morphine consumed over the ensuing 24-h period were noted. The OPS score was significantly less in Group I at 0.5, 4, and 8 h (P < 0.05) than in Group II after surgery. The median OPS score recorded over 24 h was 0 for Group I and 2 for Group II, which was significantly different (P < 0.05). The TFA in Group I (12.55 +/- 3.06 h) was significantly (P < 0.05) prolonged compared with Group II (10.62 +/- 3.18 h). The total postoperative morphine consumption in Group I (2.24 +/- 1.4 mg) was significantly (P < 0.05) less than that in Group II (3.34 +/- 2.29 mg). Nevertheless, the incidence of nausea and vomiting was not significantly different between the groups. In this study, we demonstrated that preemptive epidural bupivacaine and small-dose morphine administration is superior to the same mixture given at the conclusion of surgery for pain relief. Implications: This study was performed on two groups of 30 children undergoing hernia repair. Group I received a bupivacaine-morphine mixture caudally before surgery, and Group II received the same drugs caudally at the completion of surgery. Postoperative assessment demonstrated longer and better pain relief in Group I. (Anesth Analg 1998;87:52-6)