The Effect of Different Doses of Ropivacaine for Caudal Block in School-aged Children Undergoing Shang Ring Circumcision.

Purpose: The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of three different doses of ropivacaine in Shang Ring circumcision in school-aged children.

Design: This is a prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Methods: A total of 148 American Society of Anesthesiologists I to II children were enrolled and randomly assigned into the R0.2%, R0.25%, and R0.3% groups. These groups received 0.2%, 0.25%, and 0.3% of ropivacaine (0.5 mL/kg) for caudal block, respectively. The perioperative data on anesthesia quality (including adequate analgesia rate, analgesic duration, lower extremity numbness duration, and postoperative first urination time), and adverse events were collected. Hemodynamic variables were also measured perioperatively.

Findings: The adequate analgesia rate of caudal block in the R0.2% group (75.5%) was significantly lower than that in the R0.25% (94.0%) and R0.3% groups (98.0%) (P = .001). The analgesic duration of the R0.2% and R0.25% groups was significantly less than that of the R0.3% group (P < .001). The duration of lower extremity numbness in R0.2% group was significantly shorter than that in R0.25% (P < .05) and R0.3% groups (P < .01), and there was no significant difference between the R0.25% and R0.3% groups. The first urination time of R0.2% was significantly shorter than the R0.3% group (P < .05). There was no significant difference between the R0.2% and R0.25% or the R0.25% and R0.3% groups. No significant difference was found in adverse effects among groups (P > .05).

Conclusions: Caudal block with 0.3% ropivacaine can provide more satisfactory intraoperative analgesia quality for school-aged children receiving Shang Ring circumcision, without increasing the risk of adverse effects.