Use of Local Anesthetic (0.25% Bupivacaine) for Pain Control in Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2013-02-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
In the Cardiac Diagnostic and Interventional Unit (CDIU) at the Hospital for Sick Children
(SickKids), minimally invasive procedures are performed to diagnose and treat a variety of
congenital heart defects. Procedures are performed under general anesthetic and involve
inserting a catheter through the skin and into the femoral vein or artery in the groin. In
addition, the use of local anesthetic as a pain control regimen just prior to the removal of
femoral artery or vein sheaths is used by some but not all cardiac interventionalists. Local
anesthetic is infiltrated near the sheath insertion site, at the end of the procedure while
the child is under general anesthetic, with the goal of decreasing pain at the insertion site
and promoting comfort in the post-operative period. The use of local anesthetic depends on
the choice of the individual practitioner and is not currently a routine practice for all
patients.
The investigators proposed research seeks to investigate whether the use of subcutaneous
bupivacaine reduces pain levels in the post-operative period in children having cardiac
catheterization procedures.