The assessment of bupivacaine-tramadol and levobupivacaine-tramadol combinations for preemptive caudal anaesthesia in children: a randomized, double-blind, prospective study.

Caudal block is the regional anesthetic technique that is used most frequently in pediatric surgery and bupivacaine and levobupivacaine are widely utilized in this technique. Opioid drugs have been added to local anesthetic solutions to prolong duration of analgesia but ideal combination were not found. We compared the postoperative analgesic efficacy of equal concentrations of bupivacaine or levobupivacaine plus tramadol in pediatric patients. Sixty eight children aged 2 to 7 years who were undergoing inguinal herniorrhaphies or orchidopexies received bupivacaine 0.25% plus tramadol 2 mg/kg (1 ml/kg) (BT group) or levobupivacaine 0.25% plus tramadol 2 mg/kg (1 ml/kg) (LT group) by the caudal route after laryngeal mask anesthesia. The primary outcome of the study was to compare the duration and quality of postoperative analgesia. The postoperative pain relief was evaluated by the Children and Infants Postoperative Pain Scale (CHIPPS) at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h postoperatively. In addition, the time of first analgesic requirement was noted. The CHIPPS scores were not statistically different between the groups. The duration of analgesia and requirements for rescue analgesia was similar. Urinary retention was observed more often in the BT group. There were no significant differences between groups for arterial pressures and heart rate values after caudal block and during the operation. Caudal bupivacaine plus tramadol and levobupivacaine plus tramadol have similar postoperative analgesic efficacy. But the use of bupivacaine plus tramadol may cause a greater frequency of urinary retention.