Thanks to your donations, a charity-funded study uncovered new findings to help ensure children have a smooth recovery after an anaesthetic.
In research led by Dr Judith Short, consultant in paediatric anaesthesia at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, a trial to determine the safest way to remove a laryngeal mask airway after anaesthesia found that fewer complications occur if the child is lying on their side when it is removed.
Dr Short said:
“To administer anaesthesia both in adults and children, the laryngeal mask is often used. At the end of the anaesthetic, the mask is removed before the patient becomes aware of it. During the removal and immediately after, it is possible for complications to occur, such as coughing, vomiting, obstruction of the airway, closure of vocal cords and a drop in blood oxygen levels.”
Previous research had shown that removing the mask while the patient is deeply anaesthetised or just before waking tends to reduce complications, but rates could still be as high as 35 per cent.
Dr Short’s study, which began in 2009, involved 216 patients. They were divided into four groups with different instructions on how and when the laryngeal mask was removed. Any airway complications within the first 15 minutes were recorded and graded for seriousness.
Dr Short added:
“There was a significant difference between the overall rate of complications in the four groups, with the lowest complication rate seen in children whose masks were removed while they were deeply anaesthetised and lying on their side. The lowest seriousness score occurred when the mask was removed just before full wakefulness, again with the child on their side. We were therefore able to recommend that placing children on their side during mask removal and recovery has clear advantages.”
The findings have been published in the European Journal of Anaesthesiology. The study was part of our annual £250,000 commitment to research into the prevention and cure of childhood illness and disease.
