Pediatric Procedural Sedation

Abstract

Children present to the emergency department with painful conditions or conditions that require diagnostic or therapeutic procedures every day. As emergency physicians, we need to have the skills to manage our patients’ pain and anxiety in a safe and efficient manner. Appropriately managing pain and anxiety facilitates medical interventions, decreases patients’ suffering, improves patient and parent satisfaction, and improves the quality of care. Conversely, failure to adequately provide analgesia and sedation can have negative consequences for pediatric patients. In the pediatric population, inadequate pain control not only causes immediate harm and fear but can also worsen the reaction to future medical care and potentially affect the child’s long-term psychological well-being. This review provides an overview of pediatric procedural sedation, as well as the pathophysiology and practice. Figures show the sedation continuum with associated physiologic responses, oxyhemoglobin desaturation during apnea for various types of patients, and examples of capnography waveforms in procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA). Tables list potential indications for pediatric PSA in the emergency department, American Society of Anesthesiologists’ classifications, drugs and pharmacokinetics of common agents used in PSA, focused history and physical examination for patients undergoing PSA, SOAPME (Suction, Oxygen, Airway, Pharmacy, Monitors, Equipment) acronym for PSA equipment, and suggested monitoring for PSA pre- and postprocedure. This review contains 3 highly rendered figures, 6 tables, and 41 references. Key words: pediatric analgesia; pediatric pain; pediatric procedural sedation; pediatric sedation; procedural pain relief; procedural sedation and analgesia