Comparison of Postoperative Apneic Episodes after General and Spinal Anesthesia for Inguinal Herniorrhaphy among very Low Birth Weight Infants.

Kim,  Yu Jin; Ko,  Jae Youn; Hwang,  Jong Hee; Choi,  Chang Won; Shim,  Jae Won; Kim,  Sung Shin; Chang,  Yun Sil; Park,  Won Soon

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Society of Neonatology 2003;10(1):55-60.
Published online May 1, 2003.

Comparison of Postoperative Apneic Episodes after General and Spinal Anesthesia for Inguinal Herniorrhaphy among very Low Birth Weight Infants.

Yu Jin Kim, Jae Youn Ko, Jong Hee Hwang, Chang Won Choi, Jae Won Shim, Sung Shin Kim, Yun Sil Chang, Won Soon Park

¹Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, College of Medicine, University of Sungkyunkwan, wspark@smc.samsung.co.kr
²Department of Pediatrics, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital.
³Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon, Korea.

극소 저출생 체중아의 서혜부 탈장 수술에서 전신 마취 및 척수 마취에 따른 수술 후 무호흡증에 대한 비교

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Abstract

PURPOSE
The objective of this study was to compare the incidences of postoperative apnea in between either spinal or general anesthesia for inguinal herniorrhaphy among very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. METHODS: Retrospective chart review for 28 infants less than 1, 500gram birth weight who underwent inguinal hernia repair at Samsung Medical Center from January 1994 to May 2002 was done. These infants had been already weaned from ventilator before inguinal herniorrhaphy. The subjects were divided into two groups according to the type of anesthesia they received for the hernia repair. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in gestational age, birth weight, corrected gestational age, body weight at the time of operation, duration of mechanical ventilator and duration of oxygen requirements in between groups with general anesthesia (13 cases) and spinal anesthesia (15 cases). The incidences of apnea and requirement of oxygen for 24 hours preoperatively did not show significant differences in between two groups, however, the postoperative incidences of apnea, requirement of oxygen and ventilator care were less in spinal anesthesia group. One infant of general anesthesia group who required postoperative mechanical ventilator eventually ended up with tracheostomy due to ventilator weaning failure. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the spinal anesthesia for VLBW infants who underwent inguinal herniorrhaphy significantly decreased the incidences of postoperative apnea compared to those infants with general anesthesia.

Key Words: Apnea; Spinal anesthesia; Very low birth weight infant; Inguinal herniorrhaphy