Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Feb 2021
The use of Lean Methodology to reduce personal protective equipment wastage in children undergoing congenital cardiac surgery, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded many existing healthcare delivery challenges including long waiting lists and cost containment. New challenges have arisen, such as demand on supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the implications of social distancing on staff, patients, and their families. Despite the pandemic, the need to deliver safe, urgent congenital cardiac surgery has remained. ⋯ The use of Lean methodology can reduce waste of PPE and plastic, resulting in cost savings, while reducing staff exposure when testing patients with congenital cardiac disease for SARS-CoV-2. By preventing admission of SARS-CoV-2-positive patients, we can reduce use of isolation beds and prevent cancellation of surgery, improving patient flow and departmental efficiency. Other departments in our institution are implementing similar admission pathways to allow surgical services to restart during the ongoing pandemic.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Feb 2021
Development and Initial Validation of Self-Report Measures of General Gealth, Pre-Operative Anxiety, and Post-Operative Pain in Young Children Using Computer-Administered Animation.
For young children, existing measures of children's health-related quality of life must be parent-reported or interviewer-administered for those who cannot read or complete measures independently. Parents' and childrens' reports about the child's health have been shown to disagree. ⋯ The CHRIS measures were reliable and valid in this diverse sample of young children (4-12). Because CHRIS measures are self-administered, scored in real time, and run on multiple different platforms, this approach provides a feasible method for the collection of health-related quality of life in young children and those with limited literacy. Our data indicate that this approach is psychometrically sound and has the potential for adding the child's voice to pediatric outcomes.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Feb 2021
Audit of Blood Product Utilization in the Care of Injured Children.
Blood product utilization in injured children is poorly characterized; the decision to prepare products or transfuse patients can be difficult due to a lack of reliable evidence of transfusion needs across pediatric age-groups and injury types. We conducted an audit of transfusion practices in pediatric trauma based on age, injuries, and mechanism of injury. ⋯ The overall blood product needs in the pediatric trauma population are low (1.56%). Selected populations requiring higher rates of need include infants younger than one year, and children with thoracic and vascular injuries. Understanding transfusion patterns is important to optimize resource allocation.