1st Edition

Pediatric Regional Anesthesia

By Bernard J. Dalens Copyright 1989

    This book provides a precise description of safe and reliable procedures for regional anesthesia in children. It covers the advantages and disadvantages, specific features related to the pediatric range of ages, and the practical importance of the described procedures. Written in two main parts, emphasis is placed on scientific basis and technical approach. It includes both anatomical and psychological aspects of pain, as well as detailed viewpoints of parents, children, surgeons, and anesthetists. This book is a must for all anesthesiologists and will be particularly useful to students of medicine and anesthesiology and nurses working with intensive care units.

    Introduction. PART I: GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. SECTION I: ANATOMICAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DATA. General Organization of the Nervous System. Embryology of the Spinal Cord, Peripheral Nerves and Vertebrae. The Spinal Cord and the spinal Canal. The Peripheral Nerves. The Autonomic Nervous System. The Sympathetic System. SECTION II: PAIN. The Physiology of Pain. The Assessment of Pain in Children. SECTION III: PHARMACOLOGY. Local Anesthetics and Additives. Narcotics and Non-Narcotic Analgesics. SECTION IV: PRACTICE OF REGIONAL ANESTHESIA IN CHILDREN. Indications, Effects and Monitoring Procedures. Selection of Materials and Techniques. Adverse Reactions to Local Anesthetics. PART II: TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS. SECTION I: UPPER LIMB BLOCKS. Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Blocks. Infraclavicular Brachial Plexus Blocks. Distal Conduction Blocks. Other Types of Regional Anesthesia. SECTION II: LOWER LIMB BLOCKS. Blocks of Nerves of the Lumbar Plexus Supplying the Lower Extremities. Blocks of Nerves of the Sacral Plexus Supplying the Lower Extremities. Distal Conduction Blocks. Other Types of Regional Anesthesias. SECTION III: BLOCKS ALONG THE NEURAXIS. Caudal Anesthesia. Epidural Anesthesia. Spinal Anesthesia. SECTION IV: OTHER TYPES OF REGIONAL ANESTHESIA IN CHILDREN. Blocks of Nerves of the Trunk. Blocks of Nerves Supplying the Head and Neck. Miscellaneous. Conclusion.

    Biography

    Bernard J. Dalens, M.D., is in charge of the pediatric anesthesia unit of the university hospital Hôtel-Dieu, Clermont-Ferrand (France)., Dr. Dalens obtained his training at the University of Marseille, La Timone, from 1967 to 1974. He was an intern in pediatrics and then in anesthesiology from 1975 to 1979 and defended his medical thesis in 1979. He served as assistant-professor of anesthesiology and chief of clinic from 1980 to 1985 and, since then, he has been a hospital practitioner in pediatric anesthesiology. He graduated in 1986 from the Science Faculty of Clermont-Ferrand, France, with a D.E.A. in molecular biology., Dr. Dalens is a member of the Société Française d’Anesthésie et de Réanimation, Association des Anesthésistes-Réanimateurs Pédiatriques d’Expression Française, American Society of Anesthesiologists, International Anesthesia Research Society, and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia. He has received the Edmond Lesné Award from the French National Committee on Childhood for his medical thesis (1979)., Dr. Dalens has published more than 100 research papers and has been co-author of two French textbooks of anesthesia, one pertaining to regional anesthesia, and the other to pediatric anesthesia. His current research interests are in the development of safer block procedures in children, the anesthetic management and spinal cord monitoring of scoliosis surgery, and the metabolism and growth of (fractured) bones.