One additional shot of brachial plexus block equates to less postoperative pain for younger children with elbow surgeries.

BACKGROUND

Postoperative pain in children has always been inadequately evaluated. This study aims to evaluate the postoperative pain response using an additional dose of brachial plexus block (BPB) for younger children receiving elbow surgeries under general anesthesia (GA).

METHODS

This retrospective case-control study included pediatric patients (3-10 years) who underwent surgeries for elbow injuries between January 2015 and January 2019. Patients with previous history of surgeries around the elbow, neurological impairment of injured limb, polytrauma, undergoing pain management for different causes, and open or old fractures were excluded. Patients were dichotomized into the GA group and the GA + BPB group as per the presence or absence of BPB.

RESULTS

In all, 150 patients (102/48, male/female) in the GA and 150 patients (104/46, male/female) in the GA + BPB group were included. There existed no significant differences between the two groups in age, sex, fracture side, and types of elbow procedures. As for the pain response after lateral condyle fracture of the humerus (LCFH), the FLACC pain scale was significantly higher for those in the GA group (6.2 ± 0.8) when compared to the GA + BPB group (1.6 ± 0.5) (P < 0.001). As for the pain response after medial epicondyle fracture of the humerus (MCFH), the FLACC pain scale was significantly higher for those in the GA group (6.0 ± 0.8) when compared to the GA + BPB group (1.5 ± 0.5) (P < 0.001). As for the pain response after supracondylar fracture of the humerus (SCFH), the FLACC pain scale was significantly higher for those in the GA group (6.0 ± 0.8) when compared to the GA + BPB group (1.6 ± 0.5) (P < 0.001). As for the pain response after cubitus varus correction, the FLACC pain scale was significantly higher for those in the GA group (6.7 ± 0.7) when compared to the GA + BPB group (2.1 ± 0.7) (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

An additional shot of BPB for patients undergoing surgeries for elbow surgeries resulted in better postoperative pain response in younger children without significant BPB-related complications.