Gargollo, Patricio

AbstractBackgroundThe use of spinal anesthesia in infants is seeing resurgence as an alternative to general anesthesia.AimsOur primary aims are to describe our institution's experience introducing a spinal anesthesia and sedation protocol for infants undergoing urologic surgery, to describe methods of improving prolonged anesthesia, and to describe the failure rate of spinal anesthesia in these patients. Sedation was provided for some infants with intranasal dexmedetomidine ± fentanyl.MethodsThis is a retrospective case series examining infants aged 1‐<14 months who received spinal anesthesia for circumcision, orchiopexy, orchiectomy, hypospadias repair, or epispadias repair. The electronic medical record was reviewed and compared with unmatched historical controls who received general anesthesia.ResultsA total of 230 patients underwent a urologic procedure; 102 patients received spinal anesthesia and 128 received general anesthesia. Length of surgical time with spinal anesthesia ranged from 4 to 189 minutes. The hospital length of stay was shorter in the spinal anesthesia group (median [IQR] of 5.3 hours [4.3, 7.2]) compared to the general anesthesia group (17.1 hours [15.6, 17.5]).The median bupivacaine dose was 0.75 mg/kg [0.67, 0.85]. There was one case in which cerebral spinal fluid was unable to be obtained, and one case that required conversion to general anesthesia after surgery had started. There were no cases of apnea, bleeding, infection, or neurologic compromise.ConclusionsWe describe the successful implementation of an infant spinal anesthesia and sedation protocol and a technique that uniquely provides prolonged surgical anesthesia with a low failure rate. We also report shorter anesthesia time, surgical time, and recovery room length of stay in patients who received spinal anesthesia compared to general anesthesia.

OBJECTIVES: Posterior urethral valves predispose children to renal replacement therapy (RRT) and bladder dysfunction. Researchers of single-institutional series were unable to refine risk stratification because of rarity of the disease. We aimed to identify clinical variables associated with the risk of RRT and clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) in a large multicenter cohort study. METHODS: Children with posterior urethral valves born between 1995 and 2005 who were treated before 90 days of life at 5 children’s hospitals were retrospectively reviewed. Outcomes included RRT and recommendation for CIC. Predictors and outcomes were assessed by using survival analysis. RESULTS: A total of 274 patients were managed for a median of 6.3 years, and 42 progressed to RRT. On survival analysis, 16% progressed to RRT by 10 years of age. RRT varied by the serum nadir creatinine level in the first year of life (SNC1) (log-rank P &lt; .001). After stratifying by the SNC1, the estimated risk of progressing to RRT by 10 years of age was 0%, 2%, 27%, and 100% for an SNC1 of &lt;0.4, an SNC1 of 0.4 to 0.69, an SNC1 of 0.7 to 0.99, and an SNC1 of ≥1.0 mg/dL, respectively. CIC was recommended in 60 patients, which translated on survival analysis to a risk of 26% by 10 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: Risk of RRT and CIC recommendation increased with age. The SNC1 strongly predicted need for RRT. These results allow for both improved family counseling and the potential for more appropriate screening and intervention strategies for those identified in higher-risk groups.