Pediatric Anesthesia

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