Paediatric anaesthesia
-
Paediatric anaesthesia · Jul 2012
Perioperative course of FXIII in children undergoing major surgery.
Acquired deficiency of FXIII because of perioperative hemodilution has been described several times in adults; however, data in children are scarce. We performed a prospective observational trial to evaluate the intraoperative course of FXIII in children undergoing elective major surgery. ⋯ Coagulation factor XIII decreased early during major surgery owing to hemodilution. Overall intraoperative FXIII levels remain low despite of transfusion of fresh frozen plasma.
-
Paediatric anaesthesia · Jul 2012
Acupuncture therapy for infants: a preliminary report on reasons for consultation, feasibility, and tolerability.
The aim of this retrospective review was to determine the feasibility, safety, and potential therapeutic effects of acupuncture in an inpatient infant population and to obtain data that would support the design of a randomized, controlled trial of acupuncture in infants. ⋯ In this small group of hospitalized infants, acupuncture was found to be safe, well tolerated, and therapeutic. More studies are warranted to define the role of acupuncture in this population.
-
Acute pain management in children is often inadequate. The prevalence of pain in hospitalized children in the US is unknown. ⋯ The prevalence of moderate-severe pain in hospitalized children remains high. Analgesia regimens may not be optimal. Underutilization of regional anesthesia techniques may have contributed to increased pain scores. A large proportion of children diagnosed with moderate-severe pain may have persistent clinically significant pain in subsequent days.
-
Paediatric anaesthesia · Jul 2012
Early experiences of vasodilators and hypotensive anesthesia in children.
The physiological application of OHMS LAW explains the basis of hypotensive anesthesia. V = IR translates into: Pressure = Flow × Resistance or Blood pressure = Cardiac Output × Peripheral Resistance. If peripheral resistance is reduced by a vasodilator such as sodium nitroprusside (a short acting, vascular smooth muscle relaxant) or phenoxybenzamine (a long acting α adrenoreceptor antagonist), blood pressure will fall and vasoconstriction and bleeding will be reduced. A less desirable alternative to lowering blood pressure could be to reduce cardiac output by suppressing myocardial contractility using a ß(1) adrenoceptor antagonist or an inhalational agent such as isoflurane.
-
Paediatric anaesthesia · Jul 2012
Neonatal administration with dexmedetomidine does not impair the rat hippocampal synaptic plasticity later in adulthood.
The use of dexmedetomidine (DEX), a selective alpha-2 agonist, in pediatric practice is expanding as a result of its desirable properties. To clarify the long-term neurological consequences of neonatal administration of DEX, we investigated the long-term effects of neonatal administration of DEX on hippocampal synaptic activity. ⋯ These findings demonstrate that a single administration of DEX to rats on P7 preserves hippocampal synaptic plasticity as well as synaptic transmission later in life. In view of the some evidence that have demonstrated the permanent detrimental impact of commonly used anesthetics on neurological outcomes after neonatal exposure, our findings may suggest the relative safety of DEX administered as a sedative agent to neonatal animals with regard to the development of hippocampal synaptic functions.