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Background and Aims: Caudal block provides good perioperative analgesia for pediatric infraumbilical surgeries but has a short duration of action after a single injection. To overcome this limitation, we evaluated the effect of magnesium sulfate added to caudal bupivacaine on postoperative analgesia in pediatric patients undergoing infraumbilical surgeries. Materials and Methods: In this prospective randomized double-blind comparative study, 60 American Society of Anesthesiologists Grade I, II children aged 1–5 years, of either gender, undergoing infraumbilical elective surgeries were randomly divided into 2 Groups (Group M [Magnesium sulfate] and Group C [control]) and received caudal block with magnesium sulfate 50 mg (upto 1 ml with saline) and 1 ml saline, respectively, added to 1 ml/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded at predefined time intervals. Postoperative pain by Face, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability (FLACC) scale and level of sedation by Ramsay Sedation Score was assessed postoperatively. Duration of analgesia and number of rescue analgesic doses received in 24 h were recorded. Quantitative and qualitative variables were analyzed using Mann–Whitney U test, Chi-Square test, and Kruskal–Wallis test where deemed appropriate. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean duration of analgesia was significantly higher in Group M with reduced requirement of rescue analgesic doses. FLACC scores were higher in control Group C at all time intervals. Patients in the magnesium group were sedated for a longer period. Both groups had comparable hemodynamic parameters throughout the study. Conclusion: Magnesium sulfate as an adjuvant to bupivacaine in caudal block prolongs the duration of analgesia with a reduction of postoperative rescue analgesic requirement in pediatric patients.

The initial mechanical damage of a spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers a progressive secondary injury cascade, which is a complicated process integrating multiple systems and cells. It is crucial to explore the molecular and biological process alterations that occur after SCI for therapy development. The differences between the rostral and caudal regions around an SCI lesion have received little attention. Here, we analyzed the differentially expressed genes between rostral and caudal sites after injury to determine the biological processes in these two segments after SCI. We identified a set of differentially expressed genes, including Col3a1, Col1a1, Dcn, Fn1, Kcnk3, and Nrg1, between rostral and caudal regions at different time points following SCI. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that these genes were involved in response to mechanical stimulus, blood vessel development, and brain development. We then chose Col3a1, Col1a1, Dcn, Fn1, Kcnk3, and Nrg1 for quantitative real-time PCR and Fn1 for immunostaining validation. Our results indicate alterations in different biological events enriched in the rostral and caudal lesion areas, providing new insights into the pathology of SCI.

Background: Caudal local anesthetics with and without additives are increasingly being used for pain management in children. The primary objective of the present study was to compare intraoperative fentanyl consumption in pediatric patients undergoing laparoscopic surgeries under general anesthesia with supplemental caudal analgesia with and without addition of clonidine. The secondary outcomes were comparison of intraoperative and postoperative hemodynamic changes, postoperative pain, and postoperative analgesic requirements. Materials and Methods: In this prospective randomized trial, 32 children aged 6 months to 6 years were recruited. Group B received 2 mg/kg bupivacaine in 1.25 ml/kg, while Group BC received 2 mg/kg bupivacaine with 1 µg/kg clonidine in 1.25 ml/kg as caudal medication after induction of general anesthesia. Chi-square test, independent sample t-test, and Mann–Whitney U-test were used as applicable. Results: Intraoperative use of fentanyl and percentage of patients who required additional fentanyl intraoperatively and postoperatively were comparable in both groups. Intraoperative heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were comparable in both groups most of the time. HR was significantly higher in Group B at 1 h intraoperatively with significantly higher SBP at 10 min after caudal. Postoperative HR and SBP were comparable in both groups. Group B had significantly higher MAP in the immediate postoperative period. Postoperative pain as assessed by FLACC (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability) scale was comparable between groups with the exception of it being lesser in Group B at 8 h postoperatively. Conclusion: Clonidine 1 µg/kg added to caudal bupivacaine did not improve analgesia in comparison to bupivacaine alone in children undergoing laparoscopic surgery.

Objective: Risk factors of cranial migration were investigated in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) that migrated in the cranial direction and the long-term outcomes are discussed in this study. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent surgery for LDH at four different centers between 2012 and 2017 were studied. Extraligamentous discs were located in the lateral part of the posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL) within the spinal canal of the axial plane, and subligamentous discs were located under the PLL. The extent of cranial migration was calculated as a percentage of the height of the migrated corpus. Based on the extent of cranial migration, partial hemilaminectomy or hemilaminectomy was performed at different rates in each patient and the amount of laminectomy performed was recorded. During surgery, all free fragments were attempted to be removed. The appropriate technique was decided intraoperatively, and the surgery was performed on an individual patient basis. Results: Of 1289 patients who underwent surgery for LDH, 654 (50.73%) had caudal migration, 576 (44.68%) had migration at the level of the disc, and 59 (4.57%) had cranial migration. Analysis of 59 patients with cranial migration according to the localization of the disc fragment revealed that 31 had extraligamentous and 28 had subligamentous fragments (P = 0.024). Conclusions: Extraligamentous intervertebral disc fragments migrate more cranially than subligamentous intervertebral fragments. The anatomy of the PLL that varies along the corpus is the main reason for the weakness of the resistance of the disc material to the dorsolateral region, direction of discrete force vectors, and orientation of the disc fragment due to torsional vertebral movements.

Background and Aims: Pre-emptive analgesia using caudal epidural technique is an underutilized technique in lumbosacral spine surgery patients. We intend to study if pre-emptive analgesia with a single caudal epidural injection of ropivacaine is an effective method of postoperative analgesia by assessing the quality and duration of pain relief and intraoperative opioid requirement. Material and Methods: Eighty patients undergoing lumbosacral spine surgeries by the posterior approach were randomized to ropivacaine (R) group (n = 40) and saline (S) group (n = 40). Patients in R group received caudal epidural injection of 20 ml of 0.2% ropivacaine for surgeries at or below L5 lumbar spine and 25 ml of 0.2% ropivacaine for surgeries between L2 and L5 lumbar spine. Patients in S group received similar amounts of normal saline. Patients were monitored in the immediate postoperative period and at 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours for pain using visual analogue scale (VAS) scale. Time to rescue analgesia and intraoperative fentanyl requirement were noted. Results: The demographics, duration of anesthesia, and hemodynamic variables were comparable in both groups. The mean intraoperative fentanyl requirement (P = 0.001) and mean VAS scores were significantly lower in the R group in the immediate postoperative period, (P < 0.001), 4 hours (P < 0.001), 8 hours (P = 0.009), 12 hours (P = 0.007), and 24 hours (P = 0.046) postoperatively. The mean time to rescue analgesia was significantly longer in the R group (P < 0.001) compared to S group. No hemodynamic or neurological side-effects were observed in the groups. Conclusion: Pre-emptive analgesia with caudal epidural injection of ropivacaine is a safe and effective method of postoperative analgesia.

Background: Caudal analgesia for postoperative pain relief in paediatric day-case surgery has been found to be of short duration, hence the need for addition of adjuncts to prolong the analgesia. Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the analgesic effects of caudal block with or without low-dose intravenous dexamethasone in children undergoing day-case herniotomy. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective randomised controlled study conducted in male patients, aged between 1 and 7 years scheduled for herniotomy. A total of 94 patients were randomised into two groups. Group A received intravenous 0.25 mg/kg dexamethasone in 5 ml solution, whereas Group B received equivalent volume of intravenous normal saline. All the patients had a caudal block. Post-operative pain was assessed and recorded in post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) using objective pain scale. Time to first analgesia request (TFA), pain scores and complications were documented. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21.0. Results: A total of 94 patients were analysed with a mean age of 3.30 ± 1.67 and 3.06 ± 1.50 years for Groups A and B, respectively. The TFA request was 654.18 ± 31.56 and 261.50 ± 10.82 min in Groups A and B, respectively, P = 0.0001. Postoperatively, in the PACU, there was statistically significant difference in pain score between the two groups at 0, 30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 min (P = 0.0001) all through. Conclusion: The use of low-dose intravenous dexamethasone (0.25 mg/kg) in combination with caudal block prolonged duration of analgesia, reduced pain scores and analgesic consumption postoperatively, in children undergoing day-case herniotomy.

Background and Aims: Caudal analgesia is a good, reliable, and easy method to provide intraoperative and postoperative analgesia for infra-umbilical surgeries in children. Many additives are being used in combination with local anesthetics in caudal block to prolong the postoperative analgesia (clonidine, midazolam, ketamine, fentanyl, and dexmedetomidine). The purpose of this study was to compare the intraoperative hemodynamics, postoperative analgesia, postoperative rescue analgesic requirement, postoperative sedation and side-effects of clonidine and midazolam used as adjuvants to bupivacaine for caudal analgesia. Material and Methods: Following approval from Institutional Ethical Research Committee, 75 American Society of Anesthesiologists I and II patients aged between 1 and 7 years undergoing various elective infra-umbilical surgical procedures were included in this study. The patients were randomly allocated into three groups of 25 patients each. Group B received 1 ml/kg 0.25% bupivacaine in normal saline, Group BC received 1 ml/kg 0.25% bupivacaine + 1 μg/kg clonidine in normal saline, and Group BM received 1ml/kg 0.25% bupivacaine + 30 μg/kg midazolam in normal saline. The various parameters studied were intraoperative hemodynamic changes, duration of postoperative analgesia, postoperative sedation, postoperative analgesic requirement, and incidence of side-effects. Results: All the groups were similar with respect to patient and block characteristics. The hemodynamic parameters before and after administering caudal analgesia were also comparable. The mean duration of analgesia was 724.80 ± 60.29 min in Group BC, 605.40 ± 82.37 min in Group BM and 295.00 ± 41.78 min in Group B. Thus, the duration of analgesia was significantly prolonged in Group BC compared to Groups BM and B. The FLACC pain score was higher in Group B at the end of 4th, 8th and 12th h compared with Group BC and Group BM. Furthermore at the end of 12th h, pain scores were significantly higher in Group BM compared to Group BC. Only 1 child in Group BC received three rescue medications compared to 15 (60%) children in Group B and 7 (28%) children in Group BM. None of the groups were treated for bradycardia or hypotension and no significant sedation was noted. Conclusion: This study showed that the addition of both clonidine (1 μg/kg) and midazolam (30 μg/kg) with bupivacaine administered caudally significantly increase the duration of postoperative analgesia with minimal side-effects in children. The use of clonidine as an additive to bupivacaine in caudal epidural is a superior choice to midazolam as it reduces the demand of postoperative rescue analgesics significantly.

Background: Multiple studies claim that caudal administration of ketamine causes effective postoperative analgesia. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical effectiveness of ketamine after caudal or topical administration in pediatric patients undergoing inguinal herniotomy. Patients and Methods: This randomized, comparative, double-blind study included eighty children (aged 6 months to 6 years) received either 1 ml/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine/ketamine 0.5 mg/kg for caudal analgesia (caudal group) or 0.3 ml/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine/ketamine 0.5 mg/kg sprayed by the surgeon around the spermatic cord and upon the ilioinguinal nerve before wound closure for topical analgesia (topical group). The duration of postoperative analgesia, pain scores, rescue analgesic consumption, sedation score, hemodynamic monitoring, and side-effects were evaluated 48 h postoperative. Results: Kaplan–Meier survival analysis of analgesia free time demonstrated a significant advantage of topical ketamine (TK) group over caudal ketamine (CK) group. The duration of postoperative analgesia was longer in TK group than in CK group (28.74 ± 2.88 vs. 21.43 ± 5.01 h, P < 0.000). Fewer children asked for oral analgesics in the topical group (24 of 36, 66.7%) than in the caudal one (28 of 32, 87.5%; P < 0.01). Postoperative pain scores at the 6th till 48th h were lower in topical group with comparable analgesic consumption between two groups. In the caudal group, four subjects suffered from retention of urine: Two presented with a residual motor block and two had photophobia. Conclusion: Wound instillation of bupivacaine/ketamine is a simple, noninvasive, and effective technique that could be a safe alternative to CK for postoperative analgesia in children undergoing inguinal hernia repair.

Background: Alpha-2 adenoreceptors as an adjuvant to local anesthetic during caudal analgesia in children prolongs the duration of analgesia. This study was designed to compare the analgesic efficacy and adverse effects of dexmedetomidine and clonidine when added to ropivacaine for caudal analgesia in children undergoing lower abdominal surgeries. Methods: In a prospective study, Seventy-eight children received block with either 0.2% ropivacaine 1.5 mg/kg (Group R; n = 26) or 0.2% ropivacaine 1.5 mg/kg + 1 mcg/kg clonidine (Group RC; n = 26) or 0.2% ropivacaine 1.5 mg/kg + dexmedetomidine 1 mcg/kg (Group RD; n = 26). Results: Duration of analgesia was 7.15 ± 1.00 h in Group R, 11.57 ± 1.27 h in Group R + C, and 14.73 ± 1.53 h in Group R + D (P < 0.0001). One patient in Group R + D had vomiting and 1 patient in Group R had urinary retention which was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Addition of clonidine and dexmedetomidine to caudal ropivacaine significantly prolongs the duration of analgesia without adverse effects.

Context: Caudal analgesia is a reliable and an easy method to provide intraoperative and postoperative analgesia for infraumbilical surgeries in pediatric population but with the disadvantage of short duration of action after single injection. Many additives were used in combination with local anesthetics in the caudal block to prolong the postoperative analgesia. Aim: We compared the analgesic effects and side effects of dexmedetomidine added to ropivacaine in pediatric patients undergoing lower abdominal surgeries. Settings and Design: Double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients (2-10 years) were evenly and randomly assigned into two groups in a double-blinded manner. After sevoflurane in oxygen anesthesia, each patient received a single caudal dose of ropivacaine 0.25% (1 ml/kg) combined with either dexmedetomidine 2 μg/kg in normal saline 0.5 ml, or corresponding volume of normal saline according to group assignment. Hemodynamic variables, end-tidal sevoflurane, and emergence time were monitored. Postoperative analgesia, requirement of additional analgesic, sedation, and side effects were assessed during the first 24 h. Results: The duration of postoperative analgesia was significantly longer (P = 0.001) and total consumption of rescue analgesic was significantly lower in Group RD compared with Group R (P < 0.05). Group RD have better quality of sleep and prolonged duration of sedation (P = 0.001). No significant difference was observed in the incidence of hemodynamic changes or side effects. Conclusion: Addition of dexmedetomidine to caudal ropivacaine significantly prolongs analgesia in children undergoing lower abdominal surgeries without an increase in the incidence of side effects.

Background and Aims: Caudal block (CB) with adjuvants is routinely used in children for anaesthesia. We evaluated the efficacy of the α2 adrenergic agonist, dexmedetomidine at two different doses as an adjuvant to bupivacaine in CB. Methods: This study was conducted on ninety children. Control group BD0 received 0.25% bupivacaine 1 ml/kg, whereas, the study groups BD1 and BD2 received 1 μg/kg and 2 μg/kg dexmedetomidine, respectively, with 0.25% bupivacaine 1 ml/kg as a single shot CB. Adequacy of the block, haemodynamic changes, duration of analgesia and side effects were compared. Analysis of Variance was used for between-group comparisons of numerical variables. Student's t-test and Mann–Whitney U-test were used for quantitative data. Results: The demography was comparable. Anal sphincter 5 min after administration of the CB was relaxed in 89.3%, 82.1% and 75% of cases in BD0, BD1 and BD2 groups, respectively. The sphincter was relaxed at the end of surgery in all the cases. Comparable haemodynamics was noted with significantly prolonged duration of analgesia in the groups BD1 (964.2 ± 309 min) and BD2 (1152.6 ± 380.4 min) compared to control (444.6 ± 179.4 min). While no complications were encountered in groups BD0 and BD1, bradycardia was observed in four cases of BD2 group with accompanied hypotension in one of them. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to bupivacaine improves the quality of CB, provides good operating conditions and increases the duration of post-operative analgesia. We conclude that 1 μg/kg is as effective as 2 μg/kg of dexmedetomidine and with a better safety profile.

Background: The study was conducted to evaluate the perioperative analgesic efficacy of the two doses of caudally administered tramadol versus bupivacaine in adult hemorrhoidectomy. Patients and Methods: A total of 90 patients, aged 20-50 years, undergoing hemorrhoidectomy were randomly scheduled to receive bupivacaine 0.25% in 20 ml (Group B; n = 30), tramadol 1 mg/kg in 20 ml (Group T 1 ; n = 30), tramadol 2 mg/kg in 20 ml (Group T 2 ; n = 30) through caudal route after induction of general anesthesia. Postoperative pain was assessed every hour until the visual analog scale was 6, which is 1 st time for rescue analgesia. Postoperative sedation, hemodynamic changes, serum cortisol, and epinephrine levels and incidence of side effects were also evaluated. Results: Duration of analgesia was longer in Group T 2 (20 [1.14] h] compared with the Group B (7 [1.2] h) or Group T 1 (12 [0.75] h); all P < 0.001. There were no significant hemodynamic changes. There were not incidences of side effects. Conclusion: Caudal tramadol 2 mg/kg provided a longer duration of postoperative analgesia with rapid onset and no incidence of complications or adverse effects in adult hemorrhoidectomy.

Background: Inguinal hernia is a common disease in preterm infants necessitating surgical repair. Despite the increased risk of postoperative apnea in preterm infants, the procedure was conventionally performed under general anesthesia. Recently, regional anesthesia approaches, including spinal and caudal blocks have been proposed as safe and efficient alternative anesthesia methods in this group of patients. The current study evaluates awake caudal and spinal blocks in preterm infants undergoing inguinal hernia repair. Materials and Methods: In a randomized clinical trial, 66 neonates and infants (weight

Caudal epidural block is one of the most commonly performed neuraxial block techniques with reliable peri-operative and post-operative analgesia in pediatric patients. In our randomized, prospective, double-blinded, open level, parallel group study, we have established the effect of caudal epidural block on maintenance requirement of intravenous (IV) propofol in targeted bispectral (BIS) monitored patients. Context: Neuraxial anesthesia exhibits sedative properties that may reduce the requirement for general anesthesia. TIVA with propofol has been administered as an established method of maintaining general anesthesia in children. Caudal analgesia being a type of neuraxial block, also seems to reduce the requirement of sedative hypnotics in pediatric patients. Numerous studies show that for patients, administered with caudal epidural block, they require reduced intra-operative volatile inhalation anesthetics. In the present study, we have established the anesthetic sparing effect of Caudal Epidural Analgesia in children undergoing infra-umbilical surgical procedure and calculated the efficacy of propofol-infusion in maintaining adequate depth of anesthesia. Aims: (1) To study and compare the dose requirements of propofol using caudal epidural analgesia. (2) To calculate the efficacy of propofol as maintenance anesthetic agent in both groups and to compare hemodynamic stability of patients in both the techniques. Settings and Design: In our study, after administering general anesthesia to pediatric patients, we have administered caudal analgesia and IV analgesia to monitor the requirement of intra-operative propofol infusion using BIS monitor with a target value of 40-60 in both groups. Materials and Methods: 82 patients (aged between 3 and 6 years) have been selected undergoing infra-umbilical surgery and randomly allocated into two groups containing 41 patients in each group. Both the groups group B and group A then intubated with glycopyrrolate, 2 mg/kg injection fentanyl, propofol till loss of verbal contact and atracurium at the rate of 0.5 mg/kg and group B has been administered caudal epidural blockade with 1 ml/kg 0.2% ropivacaine. Propofol infusion at the rate of 10 mg/kg/h is given as maintenance. BIS value has been recorded throughout and propofol requirement at the end of surgery has been calculated. Statistical Analysis Used: Numerical variables between groups have been analyzed using the Student′s t-test and the Mann-Whitney U-test as applicable. Categorical variables have been analyzed using the Pearson′s Chi-square test. P < 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results: Consumption of propofol at the start of operation in the group A is 2.9 ± 0.17 and group B is 2.91 ± 0.17, which is not statistically significant (P > 0.05), whereas at the end of the operation in the group A is 11.33 ± 0.17 and group B is 7.83 ± 0.63, which is statistically significant (P < 0.05). Incidence of adverse effects is statistically insignificant between the two groups. The time for administration of rescue analgesic is 2.1 ± 0.88 in group A and 6.5 ± 0.17 in group B, which is statistically significant due to caudal analgesia. Conclusions: We conclude that in BIS-monitored patients (3-6 years) with infra-umbilical surgeries have shown a reduction in consumption of IV propofol due to caudal epidural blockade.

Background: Emergence delirium (ED) although a short-lived and self-limiting phenomenon, makes a child prone to injury in the immediate postoperative period and hence is a cause of concern not only to the pediatric anesthesiologist, surgeons, and post anesthesia care unit staff but also amongst parents. Additional medication to quieten the child offsets the potential benefits of rapid emergence and delays recovery in day care settings. There is conflicting evidence of influence of analgesia and sedation following anesthesia on emergence agitation. We hypothesized that an anesthetic technique which improves analgesia and prolongs emergence time will reduce the incidence of ED. We selected ketamine as adjuvant to caudal block for this purpose. Methods: This randomized, double blind prospective study was performed in 150 premedicated children ASA I, II, aged 2 to 8 years who were randomly assigned to either group B (caudal with bupivacaine), BK (bupivacaine and ketamine), or NC (no caudal), soon after LMA placement. Recovery characteristics and complications were recorded. Results: Emergence time, duration of pain relief, and Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium (PAED) scores were significantly higher in the NC group (P

Background: Addition of clonidine to ropivacaine (0.2%) can potentially enhance analgesia without producing prolonged motor blockade. The aim of the present study was to compare the post-operative pain relieving quality of ropivacaine 0.2% and clonidine mixture to that of plain ropivacaine 0.2% following caudal administration in children. Methods: In a prospective, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial, 30 ASA 1 pediatric patients undergoing infraumbilical surgery were randomly allocated to receive a caudal injection of either plain ropivacaine 0.2% (1 ml/kg) (group A) or a mixture of ropivacaine 0.2% (1 ml/kg) with clonidine 2 μg/kg (group B). Objective pain score and need for supplemental analgesics were compared during the 1 st 24 hours postoperatively. Residual post-operative sedation and motor blockade were also assessed. Results: Significantly prolonged duration of post-operative analgesia was observed in group B (P

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to compare the effects of caudal dexmedetomidine combined with ropivacaine to provide postoperative analgesia in children and also to establish its safety in the paediatric population. Methods: In a randomised, prospective, parallel group, double-blinded study, 60 children were recruited and allocated into two groups: Group RD (n=30) received 0.25% ropivacaine 1 ml/kg with dexmedetomidine 2 μg/kg, making the volume to 0.5 ml and Group R (n=30) received 0.25% ropivacaine 1 ml/kg + 0.5 ml normal saline. Induction of anaesthesia was achieved with 50% N 2 O and 8% sevoflurane in oxygen in spontaneous ventilation. An appropriate-sized LMA was then inserted and a caudal block performed in all patients. Behaviour during emergence was rated with a 4-point scale, sedation with Ramsay′s sedation scale, and pain assessed with face, legs, activity, cry, consolability (FLACC) pain score. Results: The duration of postoperative analgesia recorded a median of 5.5 hours in Group R compared with 14.5 hours in Group RD, with a P value of

Surgery and anaesthesia are known to cause stress response. Attenuation of stress response can decrease morbidity, postoperative hospital length of stay and, thus, cost. Intrathecal and epidural techniques produce reliable analgesia in patients undergoing surgery along with stress response attenuation. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of caudal sufentanil and bupivacaine combination on perioperative stress response in paediatric patients undergoing open heart surgery. Thirty patients (ASA grade II-III) undergoing elective corrective cardiac surgery for acyanotic congenital heart disease, were randomly allocated to two groups. In group GA ( n = 15), patients received balanced general anaesthesia. In group GC ( n = 15), in addition to general anaesthesia, caudal block with bupivacaine and sufentanil combination was given after endotracheal intubation. Monitoring included electrocardiography, invasive arterial pressure, end-tidal carbon dioxide, pulse oximetry, arterial blood gases including serum electrolytes, blood glucose, serum cortisol, urine output, central venous pressure and temperature. Haemodynamic responses in both groups were statistically similar. Serum cortisol levels were significantly lower in GC group than GA group ( P < 0.05) after sternotomy (9.8±7.5 vs. 34.74±27.35), on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) (12.17 ± 6.2 vs. 35.36 ± 24.15), after sternal closure (14.03 ± 5.1 vs. 37.62 ± 20.69), 4 hours (26.64 ± 14.61 vs. 37.62 ± 9.13) and 24 hours (14.30 ± 8.11 vs. 28.12 ± 16.31) after intubation. Blood glucose levels were significantly higher in GA group as compared to GC group at sternal closure (277.46 ± 77.25 vs.197.73 ± 42.17) and 4 hours (255.26 ± 73.73 vs. 185.26 ± 57.41) after intubation ( P < 0.05). To conclude, supplementation of caudal epidural bupivacaine and sufentanil could effectively attenuate the stress response in paediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery under CPB in acyanotic congenital heart anomaly.