Postdural puncture headache and transient neurologic symptoms in children after spinal anaesthesia using cutting and pencil point paediatric spinal needles

Background: In the last decade the use of spinal anaesthesia (SA) in paediatric anaesthesia has increased. In adults, pencil point spinal needles are supposed to be less traumatic and hence to be superior compared with cutting point needles in respect of postpuncture complaints. In children, the use of spinal needles with a special tip design have not been compared. The aim of this study was to study the clinical utility and postpuncture characteristics of four newly designed spinal needles in paediatric surgery. Methods: In this open-randomised, parallel groups, prospective study we compared the puncture quality, success rate and postpuncture characteristics in 200 children aged 2 to 128 months. Two cutting point needles; a 50-mm-long 25G Quincke and a 25-mm-long 26G Atraucan were compared with two pencil point needles; a 37-mm-long 27G Whitacre and a 35-mm-long 24G Sprotte. The children were premedicated with oral diazepam and those anxious or uncomfortable after premedication were sedated with i.v. thiopentone or propofol. Bupivacaine 5 mg ml(-1) 0.3-0.5 mg kg(-1) was used for the SA. Results: The spinal puncture was successful with one or two skin punctures in 96% of children. The cutting point needles were easier to insert through the skin and ligaments (P=0.001) but the pencil point needles gave a better (P=0.001) indication of the dural passage. The success rate of the SA was 91% without differences between the needles. Five patients were given general anaesthesia and 13 children a single dose of i.v. fentanyl/ sedative. The spinal block was completed in less than 3 min in 96% of the cases without differences between the needles. Seventeen children developed a headache, 10 of which were classified as a postdural puncture headache (PDPH), 3 with the Sprotte, 3 with the Quincke and 4 with the Atraucan needles. The youngest child developing PDPH was a 12-month-old boy. Eight of the PDPH were mild and 2 moderate. Ten children developed a low back pain, 2-3 in each study group. Three children in the pencil point groups developed signs of transient radicular irritation. Conclusion: SA using bupivacaine and the study needles produced smooth and safe anaesthesia for paediatric surgery with a high success rate. PDPH after SA is as common in children (5%) as in adults although most often mild and short lasting. SA using bupivacaine can cause transient radicular irritation.