Introduction:

The use of ultrasound in regional anesthesia has become a standard technique to improve nerve block accuracy and reduce associated complications. The literature reports a good correlation between the distance from the skin to the dura mater or the ligamentum flavum measured on ultrasound and the conventional technique of "loss of resistance". Latin American populations have not been included in the studies conducted so far but, because of differences in physical build, it is important to determine whether this correlation is maintained in the various populations. This paper offers new information about the role of ultrasound in determining the distance to the ligamentum flavum and recognizing the proximity of the dura mater to avoid accidental puncture of this structure in Latin American populations.

Objective:

To determine correlation and concordance in estimating the distance from the skin to the epidural space between the loss of resistance technique and ultrasound measurement.

Methodology:

Observational study conducted in 52 pediatric patients who received general anesthesia plus epidural analgesia for acute perioperative pain management between July 2014 and November 2015 to assess correlation and concordance between loss of resistance and ultrasound measurement of distance to the epidural space.

Results:

There is a correlation between distances measured using the two techniques, which appears to be higher as patient age increases. As for concordance, the study found that 0.43 cm should be added to the ultrasound measurement to achieve agreement with the distance obtained using the loss of resistance technique; however, the interval between the two measurements is 1.15 cm.

Conclusions:

A correlation was found between the measurement taken from the skin to the epidural space using ultrasound and the measurement obtained with the traditional needle puncture and loss of resistance technique. Although concordance was not as expected and the distance measured with ultrasound may be smaller than the real measurement with the needle, ultrasound offers good guidance regarding proximity to the epidural space.

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