Anesthesiol Clin 2014 Jun 18;32(2):411-29. Epub 2014 Apr 18.
Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, GRB-415, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Pediatric patients often undergo anesthesia for ambulatory procedures. This article discusses several common preoperative dilemmas, including whether to postpone anesthesia when a child has an upper respiratory infection, whether to test young women for pregnancy, which children require overnight admission for apnea monitoring, and the effectiveness of nonpharmacological techniques for reducing anxiety. Medication issues covered include the risks of anesthetic agents in children with undiagnosed weakness, the use of remifentanil for tracheal intubation, and perioperative dosing of rectal acetaminophen. Read More