• Hyun Joo Ahn, Jie Ae Kim, Jeong Jin Lee, Han Soo Kim, Hyung Jin Shin, Ik Soo Chung, Jin Kyoung Kim, Mi Sook Gwak, and Soo Joo Choi.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Kangnam-Gu, Seoul, Korea. hyunjooahn@skku.edu
• J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2008 Jul 1;2(1):37-41.

ObjectStable hemodynamics, normocapnia, and adequate pain relief are considered important factors in the reduction of neurological complications in pediatric patients undergoing encephaloduroarteriomyosynangiosis (EDAMS) operations for the treatment of moyamoya disease. A preoperative skull block may reduce hemodynamic fluctuations and hypo- or hyperventilation due to emergence delirium or oversedation and provide adequate pain relief, thereby reducing postoperative morbidity.MethodsPediatric patients (age 3-13 years) undergoing EDAMS surgery for moyamoya disease were randomly divided into a nerve block (NB) group (18 cases) or control group (21 cases). The treatment group patients received a preoperative NB (0.25% 5-8 ml bupivacaine mixed with 20-40 mg methylprednisolone) targeting the supraorbital, supratrochlear, auriculotemporal, and posterior auricular nerves. Patients in the control group did not receive NB. General anesthesia with sevoflurane was induced in both groups.ResultsIn the NB group, stable hemodynamic parameters were obtained with a lower sevoflurane concentration than in the control group. For delirious awakening, the odds ratio in the control group was 4.9 compared with the NB group. Pain and analgesic requirement were higher in the control patients than in the NB-treated patients during the postanesthesia care unit stay. However, the arterial CO(2) tension in the postanesthesia care unit did not differ between the 2 groups. The odds ratio in the control group for the rate of morbidity (cerebral infarction and reversible ischemic neurological deficits) during the first 24 hours following the operation was 3.2 compared with the NB group.ConclusionsThe use of skull block during EDAMS surgery provided easy hemodynamic control, calm awakening, and better pain relief and may be related to the reduced postoperative morbidity.

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