Potential adverse effects of epidural anesthesia in children are discussed. A persistent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak developed following inadvertent dural puncture during placement of an epidural catheter.
We present a 6-year-old child with Hirschsprung’s disease who was scheduled for anesthetic care during planned laparotomy and transanal pull-through procedures. These may include failure to correctly identify the epidural space, inadvertent dural puncture, epidural hematoma, neurological injuries, medication errors, catheter malfunction, catheter migration, infection, or local anesthetic toxicity. Despite its promising efficacy in controlling postoperative pain, adverse effects may still occur related to catheter placement or its subsequent use. Epidural anesthesia has shown to be a safe and effective alternative for the prevention of postoperative pain. Although opioids are commonly administered to prevent or treat severe postoperative pain, their use may be associated with adverse effects including respiratory depression and delayed gastrointestinal motility. Epidural analgesia is an essential component of a multimodal approach to perioperative pain management in children.
