Paediatric anaesthesia
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Aug 2024
ReviewA systematic review of the prevalence of chronic postsurgical pain in children.
Two prior reviews highlight the scarcity and conflicting nature of available data on chronic postsurgical pain in children, reporting a wide prevalence range of 3.2% to 64% (at ≥3 months). This updated systematic review aimed to consolidate information on the prevalence of pediatric chronic postsurgical pain. A thorough literature search of full English-text publications from April 2014 to August 2021 was conducted using Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, with search terms: postoperative pain, child, preschool, pediatrics, adolescent, chronic pain. ⋯ Interpretation is further complicated by limited information on impact, long-term analgesia and healthcare utilization, and relatively small sample sizes, hindering the assessment of reported associations. In some cases, preoperative pain and deformity may not have been addressed by surgery and persisting pain postoperatively may then be inappropriately termed chronic postsurgical pain. Larger-scale, procedure-specific data to better assess current prevalence, impact, and whether modifiable factors link to negative long-term outcomes, would be more useful and allow targeted perioperative interventions for at-risk pediatric surgical patients.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Aug 2024
ReviewEthical and practical considerations of pediatric refusal in clinical anesthesia: An educational review.
Children commonly refuse induction of anesthesia. Anesthesia providers must then decide whether to honor the child's dissent or to proceed over objection. In some circumstances, a forced induction involves restraining the child, incurring both practical and ethical harms to the patient-provider encounter. ⋯ Important legal and professional standards are summarized, and practice trends are discussed to depict the current state of practice, including novel approaches to honoring pediatric dissent for elective surgeries. This information is then used to invite providers to consider where they ethically situate themselves within a legally and professionally defined space of acceptable practice. Finally, these considerations are synthesized to discuss important nuances regarding pediatric refusal, and some key questions are presented for clinicians to ponder as they consider their practice of choosing whether to honor pediatric dissent at induction.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Aug 2024
Observational StudyA retrospective observational cohort study of the anesthetic management and outcomes of pediatric patients with Alexander disease undergoing lumbar puncture or magnetic resonance imaging.
Alexander disease is a rare, progressive leukodystrophy, which predisposes patients to complications under general anesthesia due to clinical manifestations including developmental delay, seizures, dysphagia, vomiting, and sleep apnea. However, study of anesthetic outcomes is limited. ⋯ In this single-center study, patients with Alexander disease did not experience frequent or irreversible complications while undergoing general anesthesia/MAC. Co-morbid symptoms were not increased postanesthesia. Some patients may not require anesthesia to complete short procedures.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Aug 2024
Factors Influencing Willingness to Participate in Clinical Studies in Pediatric Anesthesia (FILIPPA): A vignette-based, structured interview study.
Informed consent is a relevant backdrop for conducting clinical trials, particularly those involving children. While several factors are known to influence the willingness to consent to pediatric anesthesia studies, the influence of study design on consenting behavior is unknown. ⋯ Willingness to consent decreased with increasing level of study complexity. When conducting more complex studies, greater efforts need to be made to increase the enrollment of pediatric patients.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Aug 2024
Observational StudyAn observational study of gastric contents in pediatric patients with long bone fracture using gastric ultrasound.
The retention of gastric contents at surgery presentation is a risk factor for perioperative aspiration. A preoperative fasting (nil per os; NPO) interval is widely used to reduce this risk, but this approach is based on assumptions about the prevalence of typical gastric emptying rates. We assessed NPO guidelines' reliability with ultrasound (US) imaging and suction in pediatric patients presenting for single long-bone fracture repair after appropriate NPO intervals, when nearly all should have had empty stomachs. ⋯ NPO status may be a less reliable predictor of gastric contents at anesthesia induction in this patient population than has been assumed. Bedside US screening appears to provide more useful information for the planning of airway management.