Abstract

Perioperative anxiety has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes such as emergence delirium, increased analgesic requirements and negative postoperative behavioural changes such as sleep disturbance, separation anxiety, eating problems and new-onset enuresis. Predictors of preoperative anxiety have been identified, and these include, among other factors, the age and temperament of the child. Any plan for anaesthetic induction in a child must take into account these factors. The anaesthetic plan must be individualised for special situations, for example, the child with behavioural disorder or at risk of aspiration. This article details the pharmacological and nonpharmacological methods to minimise preoperative anxiety and the techniques of anaesthetic induction in infants and children undergoing surgery. The benefits and limitations of inhalational and intravenous induction and the current status of rapid sequence induction in children are discussed. MEDLINE database was searched for this narrative review using the keywords including preoperative anxiety, child, premedication, paediatric and anaesthetic induction. Search was restricted to articles in English, but without any publication date restrictions.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.