• Raquel Pasarón, Cathy Burnweit, Jeannette Zerpa, Leopoldo Malvezzi, Colin Knight, Tina Shapiro, Carmen Ramos-Irizarry, and Evelio Velis.
• Department of Pediatric Surgery, Miami Children's Hospital, 3200 SW 60 Court, Suite 201, Miami, FL, 33155, USA, raquel.pasaron@mch.om.
• Pediatr. Surg. Int. 2015 Feb 1;31(2):173-80.

BackgroundNitrous oxide's safety and efficacy for minor procedures is an alternative to general anesthesia, complex sedation protocols, or local anesthetic alone.MethodsA retrospective review of prospectively-collected data (2000-2012) identified 1,058 children who received single-agent nitrous oxide for minor surgery.ResultsChildren (n = 1,058, male 42 %, female 58 %) aged 1-23 years (mean = 9.8 + 5.1 years) were identified. Only nine children (0.9 %) fasted. ASA status was I-II in 1,053 (99.5 %) of patients; five (0.5 %) had an ASA III. There were no major complications (desaturation, emergency admission, apnea, airway obstruction, bradycardia) or aborted procedures. Minor complications occurred in 1.8 %; there was no association between these complications and ASA, fasting status or maximum nitrous oxide percentage administered (all p > 0.05). Post-operatively, 98 % of patients denied getting an injection. Eighty-two percent reported mild or no procedural pain.ConclusionThis is the longest reported study using non-anesthesiologist-administered nitrous oxide as a single-agent for minor surgical procedures. The technique provides safe sedation and excellent amnesia, allowing pain and anxiety-reduced surgery with no fasting or postoperative monitoring.

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