Anesthesia (20)

Generating a learning curve for pediatric caudal epidural blocks: an empirical evaluation of technical skills in novice and experienced anesthetists. (Institute of Anesthesiology, Lucerne, Switzerland) Reg Anesth Pain Med 2000;25:385–388. The aim of this study was to assess the number of caudal blocks needed to guarantee a high success rate in performing caudal epidural analgesia in children. The technical skills of 7 residents in anesthesiology who performed caudal blocks were evaluated during 4 months using a standardized self‐evaluation questionnaire. At the start of the study period, the residents had no prior experience in pediatric anesthesia or in performing caudal epidural blocks. All residents entered the pediatric rotation after a minimum of 1 year of training in adult general and regional anesthesia. The blocks were rated using a binary score. For comparison, the success rates of 8 experienced staff anesthesiologists were collected during the same period using the same self‐evaluation questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed by generating individual and institutional learning curves using the pooled data. The learning curves were calculated with the aid of a least‐square fit model and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by a Monte‐Carlo procedure with a bootstrap technique. The success rate of residents was 80% after 32 procedures (95% confidence interval of 0.59 to 1.00). The pooled success rate of the staff anesthesiologists was 0.73 (mean) with a standard deviation of 0.45, which was not statistically different from the success rate of the residents. Conclude that high success rates in performing caudal anesthesia in pediatric patients can be acquired after a limited number of cases. Success rates of residents learning this procedure are comparable to the results of the staff anesthesiologists.