Caudal epidural anesthesia in awake premature neonates for inguinal herniorrhaphy.

Postoperative apnea (PA) occurs between 12 and 40% in premature infants, varying inversely in postconceptual age (risk is greater if age is less than 44 weeks). It can appear as late as 12 hours after the end of the surgical anesthesia (7). In a recent article (1), the author related the occurrence of PA in an ex-premature infant submitted to inhalation anesthesia The use of regional blockings is pointed out as one of the solutions for the problem (9,5). This paper is about the use of caudal epidural anesthesia in a premature neonate, submitted to bilateral inguinal herniorraphy.