Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Feb 2010
Multicenter StudyAPA national audit of pediatric opioid infusions.
A prospective audit of neonates, infants, and children receiving opioid infusion techniques managed by pediatric acute pain teams from across the United Kingdom and Eire was undertaken over a period of 17 months. The aim was to determine the incidence, nature, and severity of serious clinical incidents (SCIs) associated with the techniques of continuous opioid infusion, patient-controlled analgesia, and nurse-controlled analgesia in patients aged 0-18. ⋯ The overall incidence of 1 : 10,000 of serious harm with opioid infusion techniques in children is comparable to the risks with pediatric epidural infusions and central blocks identified by two recent UK national audits (1,2). Avoidable factors were identified including prescription and pump programming errors, use of concurrent sedatives or opioids by different routes and overgenerous dosing in infants. Early respiratory depression in patients with specific risk factors, such as young age, neurodevelopmental, respiratory, or cardiac comorbidities, who are receiving nurse-controlled analgesia or continuous opioid infusion suggests that closer monitoring for at least 2 h is needed for these cases. As a result of this audit, we can provide parents with better information on relative risks to help the process of informed consent.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jun 2009
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyPropofol vs pentobarbital for sedation of children undergoing magnetic resonance imaging: results from the Pediatric Sedation Research Consortium.
Pentobarbital and propofol are commonly used to sedate children undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The Pediatric Sedation Research Consortium (PSRC) was created in 2003 to improve pediatric sedation process and outcomes. ⋯ Among institutions contributing data to the PSRC, it is found that propofol provides more efficient and effective sedation than pentobarbital for children undergoing MRI. Although apnea occurred with a greater frequency in patients who received propofol, the rate of apnea and airway complications for propofol was not statistically different from that seen in patients who received pentobarbital.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Feb 2009
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyA national survey of the anesthetic management of tonsillectomy surgery in children.
Tonsillectomy in children is a common procedure; however, there appears to be a significant degree of variability in anesthetic management. Thus far, there has been no large national survey looking at the perioperative care of these children. ⋯ Whilst there is individual variability in the management of these cases, the majority of anesthetists prefer the intravenous route for induction of anesthesia, after application of topical anesthetic cream. It is routine practice to intubate the trachea, administer paracetamol, NSAIDs, strong opiates and antiemetics.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Oct 2008
Multicenter StudyHydroxyethyl starch 130/0.42/6:1 for perioperative plasma volume replacement in children: preliminary results of a European Prospective Multicenter Observational Postauthorization Safety Study (PASS).
Several clinical studies have shown that hydroxyethyl starch (HES) may be as effective and safe as, but less expensive than, albumin when used for perioperative plasma volume replacement (PVR) in children. The new third generation HES 130/0.42 solution was designed to reduce adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and improve safety while maintaining efficacy. Therefore, the objective of this prospective multicenter observational postauthorization safety study (PASS) was to evaluate the perioperative use of HES 130/0.42 in 1000 children with a particular focus on possible ADRs. ⋯ Moderate doses of HES 130/0.42 help to maintain cardiovascular stability and lead to only moderate changes in hemoglobin concentration and acid-base balance in children. The probability of serious ADRs is lower than 1%. Therefore, HES 130/0.42 for PVR seems to be safe and effective even in neonates and small infants with normal renal function and coagulation.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Mar 2008
Multicenter StudyStructured training in intraosseous infusion to improve potentially life saving skills in pediatric emergencies - Results of an open prospective national quality development project over 3 years.
Children in emergencies need peripheral intravenous (IV) access in order to receive drugs or fluids. The success of IV access is associated with the age of patients and fails in up to 50% of children younger than 6 years. In such situations, it is essential that physicians and paramedics have a tool and easily learnable skills with a high chance of success. According to international guidelines intraosseous (IO) access would be the next step after failed IV access. Our hypothesis was that the success rate in IO puncturing can be improved by standardizing the training; so we developed an IO workshop. ⋯ Standardized training in IO puncturing seems to improve success more than previous experience and occupation of providers. However, we could not show a significant increase in success rate after this training. Larger supranational studies are needed to show a significant impact of teaching on rarely used emergency skills.