Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jan 2023
ReviewMedication Safety in Pediatric Anesthesia: An Educational Review and a Call to Action.
Children presenting for anesthesia are at high risk for medication error during their care. In this educational review, we address the rates of medication error in pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia, why they are at higher risk than adults, and why reporting chronically underestimates the number of medication errors incurred during the anesthetic care of children. We also introduce the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and Wake Up Safe, two safety organizations that have led the call to decrease medication errors. We discuss various tools to increase medication safety, as championed by Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and Wake Up Safe, including human factors research and highlight a few studies that have evaluated and addressed medication safety in the anesthesia environment.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Dec 2022
ReviewEducational Review: Error Traps in Anesthesia for Pediatric Liver Transplantation.
Anesthetic and surgical techniques for the liver transplantation have progressed considerably over the past sixty years; however, this procedure is still fraught with substantial morbidity. To increase the safety culture associated with the liver transplantation, we detail nine error traps associated with anesthesia for pediatric liver transplantation. These potential pitfalls are divided into the operative phases: pre-operative preparation (Failure to have a dedicated anesthesia team for pediatric liver transplantation); pre-anhepatic (Failure to prepare for massive blood loss, Failure to monitor for coagulation abnormalities); anhepatic including reperfusion (Failure to prepare for clamping of the inferior vena cava, Failure to recognize metabolic changes, Failure to maintain homeostasis for reperfusion, Failure to prepare for Post-reperfusion syndrome); and post-anhepatic (Failure to optimize liver perfusion, Failure to maintain hemostatic balance). By offering practical advice on the preparation and treatment of these error traps, we aim to better prepare anesthesiologists to take care of pediatric patients undergoing the liver transplantation.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Dec 2022
Review Meta AnalysisVirtual Reality in Pediatrics, Effects on Pain and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Update.
Medical procedures are often accompanied by pain and anxiety in pediatric patients. A relatively new technique to reduce pediatric pain and anxiety is virtual reality. Virtual reality is both applied as a distraction tool and as an exposure tool to prepare patients for medical procedures. Research into the application of virtual reality in medical settings is rapidly evolving. This meta-analysis is an update of the meta-analysis of Eijlers et al. investigating the effectiveness of virtual reality as an intervention tool on pain and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing medical procedures. ⋯ The current updated systematic review and meta-analysis indicates that virtual reality is a useful tool to reduce pain and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing a range of medical procedures as it significantly decreases pain and anxiety outcomes when compared to care as usual.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Dec 2022
Review Meta AnalysisVirtual Reality in Pediatrics, Effects on Pain and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Update.
Medical procedures are often accompanied by pain and anxiety in pediatric patients. A relatively new technique to reduce pediatric pain and anxiety is virtual reality. Virtual reality is both applied as a distraction tool and as an exposure tool to prepare patients for medical procedures. Research into the application of virtual reality in medical settings is rapidly evolving. This meta-analysis is an update of the meta-analysis of Eijlers et al. investigating the effectiveness of virtual reality as an intervention tool on pain and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing medical procedures. ⋯ The current updated systematic review and meta-analysis indicates that virtual reality is a useful tool to reduce pain and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing a range of medical procedures as it significantly decreases pain and anxiety outcomes when compared to care as usual.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Dec 2022
ReviewPerioperative Pain Disparity in Children: A Call for Action.
Racial and ethnic disparities in both healthcare management and delivery have been extensively documented in medical literature. For example, patients from non-White minority backgrounds in the United States have been found to experience worse clinical outcomes after surgery, to receive fewer surgical procedures, and to experience worse perioperative pain management compared with patients from non-minority backgrounds. ⋯ Specifically, there is a need for randomized control trials and health services research studying pediatric perioperative pain disparities. A multidisciplinary systems-based approach would help translate findings from scientific research to clinical practice and is a crucial step to ensuring all children of diverse backgrounds receive optimal perioperative care.