Evaluation of Caudal Block Success With Perfusion Index

Caudal epidural anesthesia was reported as the first epidural anesthesia technique in 1933, but its use started to become widespread after the 1960s(1). The procedure is safe, easy to apply, has a low incidence of complications, and the total complication rate is 1.5/1000; serious complications are 1/40000 (2,3). There are many methods to demonstrate the success of caudal epidural block. Some of the usual traditional methods are changes in mean arterial pressure, heart rate and cremasteric reflex. These methods are sometimes not objective, but take time. In this study, we will examine whether the success of the block in pediatric patients who underwent caudal epidural block, which is applied in our hospital, is correlated with the success of the block, measured with the finger probe, other than traditional methods, and whether the perfusion index shows faster block success than other traditional methods.