Adhering to risk-reduction guidelines during pediatric procedural sedation can lessen the possibility of sedation-related adverse events, researchers wrote in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics.
Researchers studied sedation records to see if guidelines established by the American Academy of Pediatrics, or AAP, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists, or ASA, for the sedation of children reduced complications when they were adopted at Children’s Hospital of Milwaukee. The AAP/ASA guidelines set standards for assessing risks before a procedure is performed, obtaining informed consent, formulating a sedation plan and assessing how deeply a child has been sedated.
Researchers identified complications in 40 of 960 records (4.2 percent). They found complications in 34 of 895 records (3.8 percent) with planned conscious sedation and in 6 of 65 records (9.2 percent) with planned deep sedation. All of the adverse events were short in duration. Complication rates were lower when structured risk assessments were performed, all process guidelines were adhered to and actual deep sedation was avoided.
Researchers also found that failure to follow the guidelines did not increase risk in this study. However, the adverse event rate was 0 if practitioners followed all of the process guidelines.
