A formula for determining the distance from the skin to the lumbar epidural space in infants and children

摘要

SummaryIn paediatric epidural anaesthesia, the distance from the skin to the epidural space is of special importance because of the great differences in size of the patients. We measured the distance from the skin to the lumbar epidural space (L3/4) in 355 paediatric patients. The epidural space was punctured using a midline approach under general anaesthesia, and was identified by the micro‐drip infusion technique. There was a good correlation between the distance to the epidural space and body weight.A clinically useful formula for estimating the distance from the skin to the lumbar epidural space was derived as follows:D = (W+10) × 0.8where D = distance from the skin to the lumbar epidural space (L3/4) (mm) and W = body weight (k