• Yuki Hateruma, Natsuko Nozaki-Taguchi, Kyongsuk Son, Kentaroh Tarao, Sadatoshi Kawakami, Yasunori Sato, and Shiroh Isono.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana-Cho, Chuo-Ku, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan. aeua.yuki@gmail.com.
• J Anesth. 2023 Oct 1; 37 (5): 714725714-725.

PurposeNurses routinely assess respiration of hospitalized children; however, respiratory rate measurements are technically difficult due to rapid and small chest wall movements. The aim of this study is to reveal the respiratory status of small children undergoing minor surgery with load cells placed under the bed legs, and to test the hypothesis that respiratory rate (primary variable) is slower immediately after arrival to the ward and recovers in 2 h.MethodsContinuous recordings of the load cell signals were performed and stable respiratory waves within the 10 discriminative perioperative timepoints were used for respiratory rate measurements. Apnea frequencies were calculated at pre and postoperative nights and 2 h immediately after returning to the ward after surgery.ResultsContinuous recordings of the load cell signals were successfully performed in 18 children (13 to 119 months). Respiratory waves were appraisable for more than 70% of nighttime period and 40% of immediate postoperative period. There were no statistically significant differences of respiratory rate in any timepoint comparisons (p = 0.448), thereby not supporting the study hypothesis. Respiratory rates changed more than 5 breaths per minute postoperatively in 5 out of 18 children (28%) while doses of fentanyl alone did not explain the changes. Apnea frequencies significantly decreased 2 h immediately after returning to the ward and during the operative night compared to the preoperative night.ConclusionRespiratory signal extracted from load cell sensors under the bed legs successfully revealed various postoperative respiratory pattern change in small children undergoing minor surgery.Clinical Trail RegistrationUMIN (University Hospital Information Network) Clinical Registry: UMIN000045579 ( https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000052039 ).© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists.

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