• Zouheir M Naja, Martin Raf, Mariam El Rajab, Fouad M Ziade, Mohamad A Al Tannir, and Per Arne Lönnqvist.
• Anesthesia Department [corrected] Makassed General Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon. zouhnaja@yahoo.com
• Anesthesiology. 2005 Sep 1;103(3):600-5.

BackgroundImprovement of the duration of postoperative analgesia is desirable in children undergoing inguinal hernia repair.MethodsFifty children aged 5-12 yr were prospectively randomized to receive either paravertebral nerve blockade or general anesthesia (sevoflurane-fentanyl-nitrous oxide-oxygen) combined with standardized postoperative systemic analgesia, both combined with light sevoflurane anesthesia, for inguinal hernia repair.ResultsMean pain scores were significantly lower in paravertebral nerve blockade patients compared with patients treated with systemic analgesia during the entire 48-h observational period (P < 0.05). Analgesic consumption was significantly higher in the systemic analgesia group (88%) compared with the paravertebral nerve blockade group (32%) (P < 0.001). Parental satisfaction was significantly higher (80 vs. 48%; P < 0.05) and same-day discharge was possible in a higher proportion of patients in the paravertebral blockade group (80% vs. 52%; P < 0.05).ConclusionsParavertebral nerve blockade was associated with improved postoperative pain relief; reduced analgesic consumption, and faster hospital discharge compared with a systemic analgesia protocol in children undergoing herniorrhaphy.

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