The Intestinal Barrier Function and Intra-Abdominal Pressure Depend on Postoperative Analgesia Technique in Children with Appendicular Peritonitis

Peritonitis is one of the risk factors for the development of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS). The plasma citrulline and intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) are informative markers of intestinal barrier function. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation of the plasma citrulline and I-FABP with intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and their relation to analgesia techniques in children suffering from appendicular peritonitis.Materials and Methods 74 children operated for appendicular peritonitis were randomized into three groups of postoperative analgesia: “Opioids” ( n  = 25), intravenous morphine of 10 mcg/kg/h; “Lidocaine” ( n  = 23), intravenous lidocaine with initial bolus of 1.5 mg/kg and then infusion of 1.5 mg/kg/h; and “EA” ( n  = 26), epidurally 0.25% bupivacaine with initial bolus of 1 mg/kg and then infusion of 0.4 mg/kg/year. Retrospectively patients in each group were divided into the following subgroups: “without IAH” ( n  = 33), “IAH” ( n  = 27), and “ACS” ( n  = 14). We detected citrulline and I-FABP in plasma on day 1 (D1) and day 3 (D3) of hospital stay.Results The patients without IAH on D1 presented significantly higher plasma citrulline (23.7 (16.0–31.3) nmol/ml) and lower I-FABP (76.9 (32.6–121.1) pg/ml) levels compared with patients in subgroup “IAH” (9.3 (7.3–11.3) nmol/ml and 226.0 (161.8–290.3) pg/ml, respectively) and subgroup “ACS” (6.9 (5.3–8.6) nmol/ml and 1011.7 (731.9–1291.5) pg/ml, respectively). The IAP had strong inverse correlation ( r s  = −0.74; p < 0.00001) with citrulline and positive strong correlation ( r s  = 0.73; p < 0.00001) with I-FABP. The citrulline in patients with IAH during three days postoperatively increased significantly in “Lidocaine” to 72% ( p =0.01) and in “EA” to 138% ( p =0.02), but it decreased to 13% ( p =0.37) in “Opioids” group. In children with ACS, citrulline on D3 was significantly higher than that on D1 and increased in “Lidocaine” to 59% ( p =0.05) and in “EA” to 134% ( p =0.001), but in “Opioids” it decreased to 30% ( p =0.48). The I-FABP in patients with IAH decreased to 12% in “Lidocaine” group ( p =0.86) and to 75% in “EA” group ( p =0.01), but it increased to 37% ( p =0.57) in “Opioids” group. During observation period, I-FABP in patients with ACS decreased significantly in “Lidocaine” to 42% ( p =0.05) and in “EA” to 96% ( p =0.003), but it increased in “Opioids” to 63% ( p =0.22).Conclusions The IAP was inversely correlated with plasma citrulline and positively correlated with I-FABP in children with appendicular peritonitis. Epidural analgesia is the most protective for intestinal wall barrier function in patients at risk of IAH and ACS.