Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Oct 2022
Observational StudyIncidence and characteristics of errors detected by a short team briefing in pediatric anesthesia.
In our institution, a modified WHO surgical safety checklist was implemented more than ten years ago. In retrospect, we noticed that pediatric anesthesia was underrepresented in our surgical safety checklist modification. Therefore, we added a standardized team briefing (pedSOAP-M) immediately before induction of anesthesia and hypothesized that the use of this checklist was effective to detect relevant errors with potentially harmful consequences. ⋯ The briefing tool pedSOAP-M was effective in detecting relevant errors with potentially harmful consequences. The presence of an experienced anesthetist was associated with a higher efficacy of the briefing. Particular attention should be given to entering patient weight into the anesthesia workstation and the perfusor syringe pumps.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Oct 2022
Enhanced Recovery After Cleft Palate Repair: A Quality Improvement Project.
Children undergoing cleft palate repair present challenges to postoperative management due to several factors that can complicate recovery. Utilization of multimodal analgesic protocols can improve outcomes in this population. We report experience designing and implementing an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway for cleft palate repair to optimize postoperative recovery. ⋯ Opioid reduction and improved timeliness of oral intake is possible with an ERAS protocol for cleft palate repair, but our protocol did not alter PACU or hospital length of stay.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Oct 2022
ReviewInduction of anesthesia with sevoflurane in children: curiosities & controversies.
Inhalational inductions with sevoflurane (up to 8% inspired concentration) have been the standard for inducing anesthesia in children for over three decades. However, when sevoflurane was first introduced, clinicians reported isolated cases of unexpected myoclonic jerking movements during the induction in children without epilepsy. ⋯ More recently, a shift away from the use of nitrous oxide has prompted some to question whether sevoflurane has a role as an induction agent in children. The preponderance of evidence supports the practice of safely inducing anesthesia with 8% sevoflurane with or without nitrous oxide in children but recommended strategies to mitigate against epileptiform discharges may be more harmful than beneficial.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Oct 2022
Randomized Controlled TrialIntravenous ondansetron reduced nausea but not pruritus following intrathecal morphine in children: interim results of a randomized, double-blinded placebo-control trial.
This study's purpose was to determine if ondansetron can prevent pruritus after administration of intrathecal morphine in children, as has been demonstrated in adults. ⋯ This study found no evidence for intravenous ondansetron as an effective preventative for pruritus following intrathecal morphine in children. However, this RCT did find that the rate of pruritus following intrathecal morphine administration may be significantly higher than previously thought. Nausea and vomiting (a secondary outcome) were reduced significantly in the treatment group. The negative findings of this study reinforce the potential dangers of extrapolating the drug effects seen in adults onto pediatric patients.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Oct 2022
ReviewInteractions of the Protease Inhibitor, Ritonavir, with Common Anesthesia Drugs.
The protease inhibitor, ritonavir, is a strong inhibitor of CYP 3A. The drug is used for management of the human immunovirus and is currently part of an oral antiviral drug combination (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) for the early treatment of SARS-2 COVID-19-positive patients aged 12 years and over who have recognized comorbidities. The CYP 3A enzyme system is responsible for clearance of numerous drugs used in anesthesia (e.g., alfentanil, fentanyl, methadone, rocuronium, bupivacaine, midazolam, ketamine). ⋯ That anesthesia approach denies children of drugs with considerable value. It is better that the inhibitory changes in clearance of these drugs are understood so that rational drug choices can be made to tailor drug use to the individual patient. Altered drug dose, anticipation of duration of effect, timing of administration, use of reversal agents and perioperative monitoring would better behoove children undergoing anesthesia.