Combined axillary plexus block and basal sedation for cardiac catheterization in young children.

A technique for the management of cardiac catheterization in children is described which combines axillary plexus block with basal sedation. The technique offers a quiet still arm with pronounced vasodilatation, permitting the use of larger catheters than usual, making sampling easier, and giving undamped pressure records. These factors, together with the absence of venospasm, make catheterization of an arm vein in young chīldren a feasible proposition; in addition arterial sampling via the brachial artery may be performed without further inconvenience to the child.