Age- and procedure-specific differences of epidural analgesia in children--a database analysis.

Objective: Several audits demonstrated the safety of epidural catheters in children undergoing surgery. Within the present data analysis, we investigated whether older compared with younger children and children with specific types of surgical procedures might report higher pain scores.

Methods: All children (0-18 years) treated with an epidural catheter for postoperative pain treatment between March 2006 and December 2010 at the University Hospital of Muenster (Germany) were included.