Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jul 2009
ReviewIatrogenic damage to the pediatric airway. Mechanisms and scar development.
Iatrogenic damage to the pediatric airway occurs rather often. Most injuries will heal without any sequelae because larynx and trachea of children tolerate considerable trauma. ⋯ A selection of photo documents of airway endoscopy out of more than 5000 photos from the years 1987-2007 were used to explain the development of injuries from minor lesions to large areas of necrosis of the mucosa of larynx and trachea of infants and children. The visualization of airway lesions might help to prevent iatrogenic damage.
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Infections of the airway in children may present to the anesthetist as an emergency in several locations: the Emergency Department, the Operating Department or on Intensive Care. In all of these locations, relevant and up to date knowledge of presentations, diagnoses, potential complications and clinical management will help the anesthetist and the surgical team, not only with the performance of their interventions, but also in buying time before these are undertaken, avoiding complications and altering the eventual outcome for the child. ⋯ In these instances, clinicians need to be alert to these less common conditions, not only in regard to the disease itself but also to potentially serious complications. This article describes those infections of the airway that are most likely to present to the anesthetist, their attendant complications and recommendations for treatment.