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Paediatric patients continue to lack access to age-appropriate oral medicines for their treatment and have to depend on the off-label use of medicines approved for adults, which compromises dosing accuracy and exposes children to unpleasant bitterness.
Perioperative respiratory adverse events pose a significant risk in pediatric anesthesia, and identifying these risks is vital. Traditionally, this is assessed using history and examination. However, the perioperative risk is multifactorial, and children with complex medical backgrounds such as chronic lung disease or obesity may benefit from additional objective preoperative pulmonary function tests.
Pediatric surgery cases are increasing worldwide. Within pediatric anesthesia, perioperative respiratory adverse events are the most common precipitant leading to serious complications.
Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg AM FAHMS MD, PhD, DEAA, FANZA Chair of Paediatric anaesthesia, University of Western Australia; Consultant
Lung-protective ventilation (LPV) has been adopted in the theater environment as a strategy to reduce pulmonary complications under anesthesia. Postoperative pulmonary complications are not infrequent and may have significant implications on the postoperative length of stay as well as the morbidity and mortality of pediatric patients.
Monitoring children's recovery postoperatively is important for routine care, research, and quality improvement. Although telephone follow-up is common, it is also time-consuming and intrusive for families. Using SMS messaging to communicate with families regarding their child's recovery has the potential to address these concerns. While a previous survey at our institution indicated that parents were willing to communicate with the hospital by SMS, data on response rates for SMS-based postoperative data collection is limited, particularly in pediatric populations.
This review summarizes and provides a comprehensive narrative synthesis of the current evidence on pediatric airway management during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg AM FAHMS MD, PhD, DEAA, FANZA Chair of Paediatric anaesthesia, University of Western Australia; Consultant
Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg AM FAHMS MD, PhD, DEAA, FANZA Chair of Paediatric anaesthesia, University of Western Australia; Consultant
Atelectasis has been reported in 68 to 100% of children undergoing general anaesthesia, a phenomenon that persists into the recovery period. Children receiving recruitment manoeuvres have less atelectasis and fewer episodes of oxygen desaturation during emergence. The optimal type of recruitment manoeuvre is unclear and may be influenced by the airway device chosen.