Ultrasound-guided rectus sheath blocks for open pyloromyotomy: A chance to turn down the gas

摘要

Sir—We read with much interest the article by Breschen et al. (1) 'Ultrasound-guided rectus sheath block for pyloromyotomy in infants: a retrospective analysis of a case series' and congratulate the authors on their informative study. In our institution, we carried out a similar retrospective review of 26 consecutive neonates undergoing open pyloromyotomy where preincisional ultrasound-guided rectus sheath blocks were performed (2). Like Breschen et al., the requirement for opiate supplementation was low with only one patient requiring intravenous fentanyl in the postanesthetic care unit and none in theater. The mean time to patient discharge was 46 h, which was comparable with that of local anesthetic infiltration techniques reported in a recent meta-analysis (3). Similar to Breschen et al., no complications were identified from the rectus sheath blocks.