• Santhanam Suresh, Claude Ecoffey, Adrian Bosenberg, Per-Anne Lonnqvist, Gildasio S de Oliveira, Oscar de Leon Casasola, José de Andrés, and Giorgio Ivani.
• Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2018 Feb 1; 43 (2): 211-216.

Background And ObjectivesDosage of local anesthetics (LAs) used for regional anesthesia in children is not well determined. In order to evaluate and come to a consensus regarding some of these controversial topics, The European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy (ESRA) and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) developed a Joint Committee Practice Advisory on Local Anesthetics and Adjuvants Dosage in Pediatric Regional Anesthesia.MethodsRepresentatives from both ASRA and ESRA composed the joint committee practice advisory. Evidence-based recommendations were based on a systematic search of the literature. In cases where no literature was available, expert opinion was elicited.ResultsSpinal anesthesia with bupivacaine can be performed with a dose of 1 mg/kg for newborn and/or infant and a dose of 0.5 mg/kg in older children (>1 year of age). Tetracaine 0.5% is recommended for spinal anesthesia (dose, 0.07-0.13 mL/kg). Ultrasound-guided upper-extremity peripheral nerve blocks (eg, axillary, infraclavicular, interscalene, supraclavicular) in children can be performed successfully and safely using a recommended LA dose of bupivacaine or ropivacaine of 0.5 to 1.5 mg/kg. Dexmedetomidine can be used as an adjunct to prolong the duration of peripheral nerve blocks in children.ConclusionsHigh-level evidence is not yet available to guide dosage of LA used in regional blocks in children. The ASRA/ESRA recommendations intend to provide guidance in order to reduce the large variability of LA dosage currently observed in clinical practice.

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