Fig. 4

Evaluation of potentially critical episodes (mean arterial blood pressure values below 35 mmHg) in both groups of very low birth weight infants receiving open inguinal hernia repair. a The figure demonstrates that the extent to which the critical limit of 35 mmHg was underran is significantly greater in the group of combined general- and caudal anesthesia (GA + CA) (**; P < 0.01). b Analysis of the mean cumulative time per patient with a mean arterial pressure value below 35 mmHg. Patients in the group of combined general- and caudal anesthesia (GA + CA) spent significantly longer time with mean arterial pressure below 35 mmHg compared to patients in the caudal anesthesia (CA) group (***; P < 0.001)