Search

Research

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increases the risk of perioperative adverse events in children. While polysomnography (PSG) remains the reference standard for OSA diagnosis, oximetry is a valuable screening tool. The traditional practice is the manual analysis of desaturation clusters derived from a tabletop device using the McGill oximetry score. However, automated analysis of wearable oximetry data can be an alternative. This study investigated the accuracy of wrist-worn oximetry with automated analysis as a preoperative OSA screening tool.

Research

This review paper explores the role of human taste panels and artificial neural networks (ANNs) in taste-masking paediatric drug formulations. Given the ethical, practical, and regulatory challenges of employing children, young adults (18-40) can serve as suitable substitutes due to the similarity in their taste sensitivity. Taste panellists need not be experts in sensory evaluation so long as a reference product is used during evaluation; however, they should be screened for bitterness taste detection thresholds.

Research

It is extremely challenging to formulate age-appropriate flucloxacillin medicines for young children, because flucloxacillin sodium (FS) has a lingering, highly bitter taste, dissolves quickly in saliva, and requires multiple daily dosing at relatively large doses for treating skin infections. In this paper, we describe a promising taste-masked flucloxacillin ternary microparticle (FTM) formulation comprising FS, Eudragit EPO (EE), and palmitic acid.

Research

Fasting for surgery is a routine step in the preoperative preparation for surgery. There have however been increasing concerns with regard to the high incidence of prolonged fasting in children, and the subsequent psycho-social distress and physiological consequences that this poses.

Research

Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg AM FAHMS MD, PhD, DEAA, FANZA Chair of Paediatric anaesthesia, University of Western Australia; Consultant

Research

Adenotonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical interventions in children, and while generally safe, it is associated with a risk of significant adverse events. In this issue, Kim et al report a prospective randomized controlled study comparing preoperative use of a tulobuterol (longacting beta agonist) dermal patch with placebo on the incidence of perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAEs) in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy.

Research

The study aimed to better understand children's emergency perioperative experience, a little researched topic. Current literature shows discrepancies between child and adult perceptions for the same healthcare experience. Acquisition of knowledge from the child's perspective can be utilized to improve perioperative care.

Research

Patients with a propensity for upper airway obstruction, including those with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), are vulnerable in the perioperative period. OSA is an increasingly common disorder in children and, when present, is associated with an increased risk of perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAE),1 morbidity, and mortality. Therefore, identifying at-risk patients is vital to provide tailored perioperative anesthetic management.

Research

Tracheal intubation in neonates and infants is a potentially life-saving procedure. Video laryngoscopy has been found to improve first-attempt tracheal intubation success and reduce complications compared with direct laryngoscopy in children younger than 12 months.

Research

Sedated and awake tracheal intubation approaches are considered safest in adults with difficult airways, but little is known about the outcomes of sedated intubations in children. The primary aim of this study was to compare the first-attempt success rate of tracheal intubation during sedated tracheal intubation versus tracheal intubation under general anesthesia. The hypothesis was that sedated intubation would be associated with a lower first-attempt success rate and more complications than general anesthesia.