Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Dec 2004
Clinical signs of infection during continuous postoperative epidural analgesia in children: the value of catheter tip culture.
Infection arising from the use of epidural catheters for postoperative analgesia is a major source of anxiety. ⋯ Minor local signs of inflammation and infection are common in pediatric patients during continuous epidural infusion. Epidural catheter tips are also frequently culture positive in patients with and without local signs and who may not go on to develop further signs or symptoms of infection. Routine culture of catheter tips is unnecessary as it is not a good predictor of epidural space infection.