‘Small blocks’ in paediatric patients

Regional anaesthetic techniques are now extensively used in paediatric anaesthesia. A better understanding and conceptualization of them has led us to define a new category of blocks, termed compartment blocks, in which the structure that has to be identified is a fascial plane, not the nerve to be blocked itself. Some of these compartment blocks, most of which have been described decades ago but fell into disuse, have now been rediscovered as they offer many advantages in terms of safety, efficiency and simplicity. These ‘small blocks’ share the same high benefit/risk ratio and, basically, the same technique of fascial plane localization; this makes them look very similar even though they involve various structures and nerves with no real anatomical link. In this category are included the peri-umbilical, ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric, pudendal, penile, fascia iliaca, saphenous nerve, metacarpal and laryngeal nerve blocks. These small blocks provide adequate analgesia for a number of very common procedures in paediatric patients; they do not require special skills, training, complicated or expensive devices. Their success rate is extremely high and they have no true contraindications or significant adverse effects. They are effective with only small amounts of local anaesthetics and thus, due to their many advantages, should be used extensively in children.