Paediatric day case surgery
Abstract Paediatric day case surgery is suitable for many children and procedures, offering benefits to patients, families and organizations. For day surgery units to be successful, thorough processes must be…
Pain assessment in children
Abstract Causes of childhood pain include peri-procedural, injury and disease. Systematic reviews have shown that pain can lead to anxiety, sleep disturbance, and have deleterious effects on daily life. Experienced…
An update of systemic analgesics in children
Abstract Paediatric pain is often poorly recognized and undertreated, and managing it effectively can be complex and challenging. Exposure to severe pain without adequate management in childhood can be detrimental…
Procedural sedation for children: principles and practice
Abstract Sedation of children is often an unavoidable component of many diagnostic and therapeutic healthcare interventions in children. Traditional agents such as chloral hydrate and midazolam continue to be widely…
Crystalloids, colloids, blood and blood products and substitutes
Abstract Intravenous fluids are a core therapy in critical care and perioperative practice. Although most fluids that we use today are very similar to those of the mid 20 th…
General principles of paediatric anaesthesia
Abstract Annually in the UK, around half a million children and infants undergo general anaesthesia. The provision of anaesthesia for this patient group can be a daunting task; the size…
Neurological and humoral control of blood pressure
Abstract There is a relationship between arterial blood pressure, cardiac output and vascular resistance described mathematically, that helps us to understand short-term control of blood pressure in terms of a…
Applied cardiovascular physiology
Abstract Maintaining an equilibrium between oxygen supply and demand is a principal function of the cardiovascular system. In times of altered metabolic demand, mechanisms exist to maintain the balance between…
The perioperative management of frailty in patients presenting for vascular surgery
Abstract The volume of patients who are older and living with frailty presenting for surgery is increasing. Frailty is a multifactorial clinical syndrome associated with decreased metabolic and physiological reserve…
Anaesthesia for carotid surgery
Abstract Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and may be preceded by a transient ischaemic attack (TIA). 20% will have a carotid stenosis caused by atheromatous plaque…
