An institutional experience with epidural analgesia in children and young adults undergoing cardiac surgery.

Background: Allowing spontaneous respiration after cardiac surgery eliminates complications related to mechanical ventilation and optimizes cardiopulmonary interaction. Epidural analgesia has been proposed to promote early extubation after cardiac surgery.

Objective: To identify the characteristics of patients with epidural analgesia and safety profiles with respect to the timing of extubation following cardiac surgery.