Epidural analgesia is effective and an accepted treatment for postoperative pain. Urinary retention is a known complication, but its description is mostly in the adult literature. Management of urinary catheter (UC) placement and removal is an important consideration in children receiving epidural analgesia. This is a single-center, retrospective observational study which examined UC management in children undergoing lower extremity orthopedic surgery under general anesthesia with or without epidural analgesia from January 2019−June 2021. Of 239 children included, epidural analgesia was used in 57 (23.8%). They were significantly younger and had more co-morbidities. In total, 75 UCs were placed in the OR, 9 in the ward, and 7 re-inserted. UC placement in the epidural group was more common (93% vs. 17%, p < 0.001) and remained longer (3 days vs. 1 day, p = 0.01). Among children without intra-operative UC, ward placement was more common in the epidural cohort (60% vs. 1.6%, p = 0.007). OR UC placement and ward re-insertion were more common in children with neuromuscular disease (61% vs. 22%, p < 0.001), (17% vs. 3%, p = 0.001), respectively. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that it is justifiable to routinely place a UC intra-operatively in children who undergo hip or lower extremity surgery and are treated with epidural analgesia, and caution is advised before early UC removal in orthopedic children with NMD.
Keywords: epidural analgesia; lower extremity orthopedic surgery; neuromuscular disease; postoperative urinary retention; urinary catheter.