Regional Anesthesia in Pediatric Orthopaedic Patients

Single-Shot Versus Continuous Regional Anesthesia for Treating Acute Postoperative Pain in Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Trial

To identify the benefits from regional anesthesia use as pain management in the pediatric population by delineating the differences in efficacy of continuous nerve blockade versus single-shot techniques after pediatric orthopaedic limb procedures. By doing this, the investigators can determine if specific anesthetic techniques should become a standard of care in pain management for the pediatric population and supersede the need for opioid medication.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients undergoing primary orthopaedic limb surgery
• Outpatient orthopaedic surgeries
• Patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery who would normally receive regional anesthesia

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients younger than 5 years of ago or older than 18 years of age
• Revision orthopaedic surgeries
• Spinal orthopaedic surgeries
• Orthopaedic surgeries where the standard of care for type of regional anesthesia has been established (continuous regional for ACL reconstruction)
• Patients with the inability to articulate pain scores
• Inpatient orthopaedic surgeries
• Patients undergoing orthopaedic limb surgery with risk of compartment syndrome (i.e. acute supracondylar humerus fractures)