Pediatric Anesthesia

PERIOPERATIVE FLUID MANAGEMENT IN CHILDREN 1. INTRODUCTION Perioperative fluid management in children requires an understanding of age-dependent physiology, indications for fluid administration, the composition of available solutions, and the effects of anaesthesia and surgery on fluid distribution. Neonates and infants are particularly vulnerable because of their higher total body water fraction, greater extracellular fluid proportion, […]

VENTILATION STRATEGIES IN CHILDREN INTRODUCTION Mechanical ventilation is one of the most commonly used organ-support therapies in paediatric intensive care and anaesthesia. Children differ significantly from adults in respiratory anatomy, lung mechanics, chest wall compliance, airway calibre, oxygen consumption, and respiratory muscle function. Consequently, ventilation strategies derived from adult studies cannot be simply extrapolated to

DIFFICULT PEDIATRIC AIRWAY Definition A difficult paediatric airway is a clinical situation in which a conventionally trained anaesthesiologist experiences difficulty with one or more of the following: Face mask ventilation Supraglottic airway placement Tracheal intubation Extubation Front-of-neck access (FONA) Children desaturate much faster than adults because of: Higher oxygen consumption (6–8 mL/kg/min) Lower functional residual

PEDIATRIC AIRWAY MANAGEMENT Introduction Paediatric airway management is one of the most important and challenging aspects of paediatric anaesthesia. Children are not small adults; they possess unique anatomical and physiological characteristics that predispose them to airway obstruction, difficult ventilation, rapid desaturation, and airway-related complications. The primary goals of paediatric airway management are: • Maintain airway

Paediatric Airway Anatomy and Assessment Introduction Paediatric airway management differs significantly from adult airway management because of unique anatomical and physiological characteristics. A relatively large tongue, cephalad larynx, compliant airway structures, and limited oxygen reserves predispose children to airway obstruction and rapid desaturation. Understanding these differences and performing a systematic airway assessment are essential for

Anatomical and Physiological Differences: Child vs Adult Children and neonates in particular are not simply small adults. Every organ system undergoes structural and functional maturation over the first years of life, and these differences directly shape anaesthetic risk, airway management, drug dosing, fluid therapy and perioperative monitoring.  1. Body Size, Proportions & Surface Area Parameter