Sedoanalgesia in the Debridement of Pediatric Burns in the Emergency Department: Is It Effective and Safe?

Abstract

The routine use of sedoanalgesia has increased the number of potential minor surgical procedures that can be performed in the Emergency Department (ED) without requiring general anesthesia and, thus, hospital admission. Our aim is to analyze the effectiveness and safety of the use of sedoanalgesia in childhood burns treated in the ED. A retrospective study was conducted in burned children in whom burn debridement was performed under sedoanalgesia in the ED between 2017 and 2021 in a tertiary referral center for burns. We collected demographic variables, burn features and the type of sedoanalgesia performed in each case, including its effectiveness and associated adverse effects. A total of 227 patients (118 males, 109 females) were included, with a median age of 25 months. In total, 99.2% of the burns were thermal (69.2% scald burns), with a mean total body surface area (TBSA) burned of 4%. The most commonly used drugs were intravenous ketamine (35.7%), intravenous ketamine + midazolam (15.4%), intranasal fentanyl + midazolam (14.1%) and intranasal fentanyl (10.6%). The effectiveness of sedoanalgesia was considered satisfactory in 95.2% of the cases, with an adverse effect rate of 7.5%, without severe adverse effects reported. The use of sedoanalgesia in the ED in the early treatment of childhood burns achieves high effectiveness and safety. It is postulated as a quality indicator; thus, it should be known by all pediatric healthcare practitioners.