Peripheral nerve catheters in children: an analysis of safety and practice patterns from the pediatric regional anesthesia network (PRAN)

Peripheral nerve catheters (PNCs) are used with increasing frequency in children. Although adult studies have demonstrated safety with this technique, there have been few safety studies in children. The main objective of the current investigation was to examine the incidence of PNC complications in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of anaesthesia : BJA 2015-09, Vol.115 (3), p.457-462
Main Authors: Walker, B.J., Long, J.B., De Oliveira, G.S., Szmuk, P., Setiawan, C., Polaner, D.M., Suresh, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
analgesia
Anesthesia, Conduction - adverse effects
Anesthesia, Conduction - statistics & numerical data
Bacterial Infections - epidemiology
catheter
Catheters - adverse effects
Child
children
complication
Databases, Factual
Equipment Failure
Female
Humans
Male
nerve
Nerve Block - adverse effects
Nerve Block - statistics & numerical data
paediatrics
pain
Peripheral Nerves
Practice Patterns, Physicians' - statistics & numerical data
Prospective Studies
Time Factors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Peripheral nerve catheters (PNCs) are used with increasing frequency in children. Although adult studies have demonstrated safety with this technique, there have been few safety studies in children. The main objective of the current investigation was to examine the incidence of PNC complications in children undergoing surgery. This is an observational, multi-institutional study using the Pediatric Regional Anesthesia Network (PRAN) database. Data pertaining to PNCs were entered prospectively into a secure, online database by each participating centre. Patient characteristics, anatomic location, localization techniques, medications used, and complications were recorded for each catheter. All complications and any sequelae were followed until resolution. There were 2074 PNCs included in the study. 251 adverse events and complications were recorded, resulting in an overall incidence (95% CI) of complications of 12.1% (10.7–13.5%). The most common complications were catheter malfunction, block failure, infection, and vascular puncture. There were no reports of persistent neurologic problems, serious infection, or local anaesthetic systemic toxicity, resulting in an estimated incidence (95% CI) of 0.04% (0.001–0.2%). Patients who developed an infection had used the catheters for a greater number of days, median (IQR) of 4.5 (3–7) days compared with 3 (1–3) days in the patients who did not develop an infection, P
ISSN:0007-0912
1471-6771
DOI:10.1093/bja/aev220