Retrospective Evaluation of Anesthesia Methods in Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery: A Single-Center Study of 1468 Patients

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the distribution of anesthesia methods and complication rates in pediatric patients aged 0–18 years who underwent orthopedic surgery at the Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Van Yuzuncu Yil University Facult y of Medicine, between 2019 and 2021. Materials and Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective, cross-sectional, and descriptive study. A total of 1468 pediatric patients aged 0–18 years classified as ASA I–II who underwent orthopedic surgery were included. Patient data including age, sex, type of surgery, anesthesia method applied, and anesthesia-related complications were recorded and analyzed. Results: Of the 1468 patients included in the study, general anesthesia was administered to 70.8%, peripheral nerve blocks to 16%, and spinal anesthesia to 12.6%. A significant increase was observed in the rates of general and spinal anesthesia in 2021, while the rate of peripheral nerve blocks decreased. The most common complication was tachycardia, observed at a rate of 3.5% in 2019. Complication rates decreased significantly in subsequent years. Conclusion: General anesthesia remains the most preferred method in pediatric orthopedic surgeries. However, regional anesthesia techniques are increasingly used and demonstrate safety. These findings suggest that regional techniq ues can be effectively and widely applied in pediatric populations with appropriate patient selection.