A comparison of the postoperative analgesic effectiveness of low dose caudal epidural block and US-guided dorsal penile nerve block with in-plane technique in circumcision.

BACKGROUND

Circumcision can be performed under sedo-analgesia, general anesthesia, or regional anesthesia. It may cause serious postoperative pain and patients often require additional analgesia. Dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB) and caudal epidural block are commonly used regional anesthesia methods to provide effective postoperative pain control in circumcision.

OBJECTIVE

In this prospective observational study, we aimed to investigate the postoperative analgesic efficiency of DPNB with the ultrasound (US)-guided in-plane technique and single-dose caudal epidural block in circumcision.

STUDY DESIGN

Male patients aged 4-12 years in the ASA I-II group, who were scheduled for circumcision, were included in the study. A caudal epidural block or US-guided DPNB with the in-plane technique was administered under general anesthesia before the operation. Postoperative pain was evaluated using the Children's Hospital Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS) and Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R). Postoperative analgesic need and parental satisfaction were also noted.

RESULTS

There were 140 patients in our study. The number of patients receiving a caudal block (n = 70) and DPNB block (n = 70) was equal. Side effects were only seen in five patients in the caudal group. No side effects were seen in patients in the DPNB group. Analgesics were required in 3.6% of the patients in the caudal group and none of the patients in the DPNB group postoperatively. CHEOPS mean scores in the caudal block group were found to be statistically significantly higher than in the penile block group. FPS-R 24th hour mean score was statistically significantly higher in the caudal block group (P < 0.001). Postoperative parental satisfaction in the penile block group was found to be statistically significantly better than in the caudal block group (P = 0.028).

DISCUSSION

This study demonstrated that DPNB conducted with the US-guided in-plane technique was more effective than caudal block in providing postoperative analgesia. The parental satisfaction was also higher, and no side effect was seen in the DPNB group.

CONCLUSION

DPNB conducted with the US-guided in-plane technique is a simple and safe regional anesthesia method used to provide effective postoperative analgesia for male circumcision. Complications related to DPNB can be prevented with the help of the real-time imaging provided by ultrasound.