CONTINUOUS PARAVERTEBRAL BLOCK FOR POST THORACOTOMY ANALGESIA IN CHILDREN

The use of continuous paravertebral analgesia was studied in 15 childr en with a mean age of 9.8 years (2-16 years). Nine patients received p re-emptive and postoperative paravertebral analgesia while six childre n studied earlier in the series received only post operative paraverte bral analgesia. Excellent pain relief was attained in all patients, as assessed by the graded pictures of facial expression or visual analog ue pain scores and morphine requirements There were no pulmonary compl ications and no complications related to the continuous paravertebral infusion of bupivacaine. We conclude that continuous paravertebral blo ck is an effective and safe method for post thoracotomy pain relief in children.