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The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of thoracoscopic drainage with open drainage of empyema in children. A retrospective case history audit was done of children presenting to a single major paediatric centre who underwent thoracoscopy drainage and decortication or open decortication and drainage (thoracotomy) between January 2000 and September 2002. Time to resolution of infection, duration of intercostal catheter (ICC) drainage, postoperative morphine requirements, and length of hospital admission were compared as primary measures of outcome. Thirty-three patients, 17 male and 16 female, aged between 1 month and 21 years were included in the study. Median age at surgery was 2.6 years. The location of the empyema was right-sided in 17 patients and left-sided in 16 patients. The empyema was drained by thoracoscopy in 11 patients, and 22 patients underwent thoracotomy. Two patients had thoracoscopy converted to thoracotomy for late-stage disease requiring greater surgical access. There were no differences between treatment groups with respect to duration of ICC drainage (p=0.6), duration of fever (p=0.6), length of stay (p=0.9), or postoperative morphine use (p=0.2). However, overall pain scores were lower in the thoracoscopy group, particularly on days 2 and 3; this approached statistical significance (p=0.07). This study has demonstrated that thoracoscopic drainage is an effective procedure for treating empyema in children. It is less invasive than open thoracotomy and is associated with less patient discomfort and less severe pain as measured by objective pain scores. We advocate thoracoscopic drainage for the majority of patients with empyema, except for those with advanced disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incarcerated inguinal hernias in infants are commonly encountered. Reduction with intravenous sedation using morphine and related drugs carries risks of apnoea and/or respiratory arrest, especially in small, ex-premature babies who have an increased incidence of incarceration and thus opiate use is best avoided. Caudal epidural anaesthesia is widely used as pre- and post-operative analgesia in elective inguinal herniotomy in infants. In this study we sought to determine if caudal epidural anaesthesia would allow reduction of an incarcerated inguinal hernia in the acute setting, thereby obviating the need for intravenous sedation. A retrospective review of 12 male infants, with irreducible, incarcerated inguinal hernias was done. Each hernia was successfully reduced with the help of caudal epidural anaesthesia. This group of babies was treated at The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Twelve male infants were identified with an incarcerated inguinal hernia in whom attempted reduction, without sedation had failed. Using Bupivacaine (1 ml/kg 0.25%), placed into the caudal space, these hernias were successfully reduced non-operatively. Ages at presentation ranged from 2 to 17 weeks with a median gestational age of 36 weeks (range 29-39 weeks). Caudal epidural anaesthesia is a safe, feasible and effective method of achieving reduction of irreducible, incarcerated inguinal hernias. It is especially useful in low-birth weight, premature infants where intravenous opiate sedation is best avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]