Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jul 2009
Comparative StudyPlasma and renal clearances of lactated Ringer's solution in pediatric and adult patients just before anesthesia is induced.
Lactated Ringer's solution is most widely used in children, but little is known about how children who are scheduled for surgery handle a fluid load when compared to adults. This study explores whether a more cautious regimen for the administration of lactated Ringer's is warranted in children awaiting minor surgery when compared to adults. ⋯ The plasma and renal clearances of lactated Ringer's solution were higher in children with a body weight of about 15 kg in comparison with adults. Therefore, children in this age group may receive at least the same amounts of fluid per kilo body weight during preparation for surgery as the amounts recommended for adults.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jul 2009
Use of premedication for intubation in tertiary neonatal units in the United Kingdom.
Endotracheal intubation and laryngoscopy are frequently performed procedures in neonatal intensive care. These procedures represent profoundly painful stimuli and have been associated with laryngospasm, bronchospasm, hemodynamic changes, raised intracranial pressure and an increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage. These adverse changes can cause significant neonatal morbidity but may be attenuated by the use of suitable premedication. ⋯ In comparison with data from a 1998 survey, our study demonstrated an increase in the number of units that have adopted a written policy for premedication use, and in the number routinely using premedication drugs for elective intubation. There remains little consensus as to which drugs should be used and in what dose.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Jul 2009
Stridor is not a scientifically valid outcome measure for assessing airway injury.
Since about a decade cuffed intubation is becoming more popular in pediatric anesthesia. Studies supporting cuffed intubation compared cuffed and uncuffed intubation by using stridor as main outcome measure after extubation. No differentiations were made between benign (oedema) and severe (ulceration of mucosa) lesions. ⋯ The symptom of stridor might develop weeks and months after injury when silent ulcerations of the mucosa retract to significant stenosis. Only endoscopy can evidently detect all airway injuries. Studies describing airway injury by endoscopic control are urgently needed to find the best way of preventing airway injury by intubation.
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Tracheostomy is more hazardous in the pediatric population than in adults (Paediatr Nurs, 17, 2005, 38; Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol, 67, 2003, 7; J R Soc Med, 89, 1996, 188). Airway management in these children and infants is potentially challenging. Previous case series of pediatric tracheostomy published in the surgical journals make little mention of anesthetic techniques used and do not describe airway management. The aim of this study was to review the anesthetic, and in particular the airway management of children undergoing tracheostomy at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). ⋯ This case series demonstrates that intubation is difficult in up to 26% of children presenting for tracheostomy. While intubation of the trachea remains the preferred option when anesthetizing children for tracheostomy, the LMA or facemask can provide a successful airway where intubation is not possible. The use of the LMA or facemask may therefore be life saving in the unintubatable child.