Spinal anesthesia for preterm infants undergoing inguinal hernia repair.

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Abstract
INGUINAL HERNIAS are common in preterm infants, occurring in up to 38% of infants whose birth weight is between 751 g and 1000 g and in 16% of those whose birth weight is between 1001 g and 1250 g.1 Because infants with inguinal hernia face a relatively high risk of incarcerated hernia and bowel obstruction, preterm infants undergo inguinal hernia repair (IHR) shortly after becoming medically stable.2 Most pediatric surgeons perform these IHRs with general anesthesia.3 Multiple studies have demonstrated that preterm (gestational age [GA], ≤37 weeks), high-risk (preterm infants whose postconceptual age at surgery [PCAS] is 4-11 This high incidence of apnea has resulted in the routine hospital admission of infants after receiving general anesthesia for IHR to monitor for postoperative apnea.