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Securing an airway enables the oxygenation and ventilation of the lungs and is a potentially life-saving medical procedure. Adverse and critical events are common during airway management, particularly in neonates and infants. The multifactorial reasons for this include patient-dependent, user-dependent and also external factors.
The current research landscape has become increasingly competitive with approximately 35% of submitted manuscripts accepted for publication by peer-review journals. It is known that studies with certain 'favourable characteristics' have an increased likelihood of acceptance for publication, such as prospective study design, multiple sites, and notable authors.
Tracheostomy tubes act as foreign bodies, predisposing the surrounding airway to respiratory infections. Initial treatment for infections is topical - nebulized tobramycin - although guidelines for standardized treatment are lacking.
Airway management is required during general anaesthesia and is essential for life-threatening conditions such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Evidence from recent trials indicates a high incidence of critical events during airway management, especially in neonates or infants. It is important to define the optimal techniques and strategies for airway management in these groups.
At two hospitals in Western Australia, we conducted a prospective, open-label, randomised, controlled trial of 240 patients undergoing tonsillectomy to investigate the effect of chewing a confectionery jelly snake on postoperative nausea and vomiting. The results were published in Anaesthesia Critical Care & Pain Medicine. Recruitment for this study was completed uneventfully between July 2018 and August 2019.
The Trial Remifentanil DEXmedetomidine trial aimed to determine if, in children < 2 years old, low-dose sevoflurane/dexmedetomidine/remifentanil anesthesia is superior to standard dose sevoflurane anesthesia in terms of global cognitive function at 3 years of age.
The availability of age-appropriate, taste-masked oral solid medications for the paediatric population is currently inadequate. We have developed a novel chocolate-based drug delivery platform to taste-mask bitter drugs commonly utilised in the hospital setting, but there is limited evidence regarding parent's perspectives on these medications.
Perioperative pain management impacts patient morbidity, quality of life, and hospitalization cost. In children, it impacts not only the child, but the whole family. Adjuncts for improved perioperative analgesia continue to be sought to minimize adverse side effects associated with opioids and for those in whom regional or neuraxial anesthesia is not suitable.
Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg AM FAHMS MD, PhD, DEAA, FANZA Chair of Paediatric anaesthesia, University of Western Australia; Consultant
Pediatric surgery cases are increasing worldwide. Within pediatric anesthesia, perioperative respiratory adverse events are the most common precipitant leading to serious complications.