782 Evaluation of Ketamine Sedation as An Alternative to General Anaesthetic for The Management of Paediatric Soft Tissue Facial Injuries During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

IntroductionStandard surgical practice of paediatric soft tissue facial injuries requires general anaesthetic (GA) if treatment with local anaesthetic is not tolerated. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the risk of hospital admission for GA to patients and pre-operative Covid-19 testing can delay surgical treatment. In response, a service was established to facilitate short surgical procedures by the Oral and Maxillofacial surgical (OMFS) team with ketamine sedation (KS) at a tertiary level paediatric emergency department. Evaluation of this service demonstrates that KS is a suitable alternative to GA with reduced waiting times, low complications and equivalent surgical outcomes.Method20 patients treated under KS from May- September 2020 were identified and compared to a control group of 20 patients treated under GA during the same time period. Data including patient demographics, surgical treatment and the KS/GA procedure was collected from the medical records and was analysed using Microsoft excel.ResultsThe KS patients had shorter waits for treatment with 85% of patients waiting 1 day or less, compared with 55% for the GA group. Using the local KS protocol 1 or 2 doses of ketamine was sufficient in 79% of cases and adverse effects were minimal with 21% of KS patients suffering mild nausea and vomiting.ConclusionsKS is an acceptable alternative to GA for the management of paediatric soft tissue injuries. KS reduces inpatient admission for GA which is of increased importance during the Covid-19 pandemic. Other OMFS units would benefit from access to a similar service.