Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Feb 2022
ReviewUpdate on ventilation management in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Studies have shown that up to 63% of pediatric intensive care unit patients admitted with acute respiratory or cardiorespiratory illness require mechanical ventilation. Mechanical ventilator support can be divided into three phases: initiation, escalation, and resolution. Noninvasive ventilation is typical during the initiation phase in the management of acute pediatric respiratory failure. ⋯ Extracorporeal pulmonary support via extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or paracorporeal lung assist devices provides rescue options when conventional and nonconventional methods fail. During resolution of a course of mechanical ventilator support, reliable weaning strategies and extubation readiness testing are lacking in pediatric critical care. Further, timing of tracheostomy, risk reduction in ventilator-induced lung injury, and decreased sedation requirements in pediatric patients requiring mechanical ventilation in the pediatric intensive care unit are areas of ongoing research.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Feb 2022
ReviewUpdate on ventilatory management of extremely preterm infants-A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit perspective.
Extremely preterm infants commonly suffer from respiratory distress syndrome. Ventilatory management of these infants starts from birth and includes decisions such as timing of respiratory support in relation to umbilical cord management, oxygenation targets, and options of positive pressure support. The approach of early intubation and surfactant administration through an endotracheal tube has been challenged in recent years by primary noninvasive respiratory support and newer methods of surfactant administration via thin catheters. ⋯ Recent research suggests that the forced oscillation technique may help to find the lowest positive end-expiratory pressure at which lung recruitment is optimal. Benefits and risks of the various modes of noninvasive ventilation depend on the clinical setting, degree of prematurity, severity of lung disease, and competency of staff in treating associated complications. Respiratory care after discharge includes home oxygen therapy, lung function monitoring, weaning from medication started in the neonatal unit, and treatment of asthma-like symptoms.
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Perioperative lung ultrasound is a continuously evolving modality with numerous applications for the pediatric anesthesiologist. Lung ultrasound can be used at the bedside, including intraoperatively, to augment traditional physical examination methods of assessing cardiopulmonary structures and identifying the presence of specific and clinically significant pathology. ⋯ With its relative ease of performance, lung ultrasound should be considered in the initial evaluation of intraoperative hypoxemia particularly when traditional modes of evaluation are nonexplanatory. This educational review introduces the basic concepts of lung ultrasound as they relate to pediatric anesthesia patients.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Feb 2022
ReviewRisk assessment and optimization strategies to reduce perioperative respiratory adverse events in Pediatric Anesthesia-Part 2: Anesthesia-related risk and treatment options.
Perioperative respiratory adverse events are the most common cause of critical events in children undergoing anesthesia and surgery. While many risk factors remain unmodifiable, there are numerous anesthetic management decisions which can impact the incidence and impact of these events, especially in at-risk children. Ongoing research continues to improve our understanding of both the influence of risk factors and the effect of specific interventions. This review discusses anesthesia risk factors and outlines strategies to reduce the rate and impact of perioperative respiratory adverse events with a chronologic based inquiry into anesthetic management decisions through the perioperative period from premedication to postoperative disposition.
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Various developmental aspects of respiratory physiology put infants and young children at an increased risk of respiratory failure, which is associated with a higher rate of critical incidents during anesthesia. The immaturity of control of breathing in infants is reflected by prolonged central apneas and periodic breathing, and an increased risk of apneas after anesthesia. ⋯ The increased chest wall compliance and reduced gas exchange surface of the lungs reduce the pulmonary oxygen reserve vis-à-vis a higher metabolic oxygen demand, which causes more rapid oxygen desaturation when ventilation is compromised. This review describes the various developmental aspects of respiratory physiology and summarizes anesthetic implications.