2022 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Management of the Difficult Airway

The American Society of Anesthesiologists; All India Difficult Airway Association; European Airway Management Society; European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care; Italian Society of Anesthesiology, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care, Learning, Teaching and Investigation Difficult Airway Group; Society for Airway Management; Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia; Society for Head and Neck Anesthesia; Society for Pediatric Anesthesia; Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists; and the Trauma Anesthesiology Society present an updated report of the Practice Guidelines for Management of the Difficult Airway.

Perioperative respiratory adverse events during ambulatory anesthesia in obese children

Obesity is one of the most common clinical conditions in the pediatric population with an increasing prevalence ranging from 20 to 30% worldwide. It is well known that during ambulatory anesthesia, obese children are more prone to develop perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAEs) associated with obesity. To avoid or at least minimize these adverse effects, a thorough preoperative assessment should be undertaken as well as consideration of specific anesthetic approaches such as preoxygenation before induction of anesthesia and optimizing drug dosing. The use of short-acting opioid and nonopioid analgesics and the frequent implementation of regional anesthesia should also be included. Noninvasive airway management, protective mechanical ventilation, and complete reversion of neuromuscular blockade and awake extubation also proved to be beneficial in preventing PRAEs. During the postoperative period, continuous monitoring of oxygenation and ventilation is mandatory in obese children. In the current review, we sought to provide recommendations that might help to reduce the severity of perioperative respiratory adverse events in obese children, which could be of particular importance for reducing the rate of unplanned hospitalizations and ultimately improving the overall postoperative recovery.

Comparison of the effects of desflurane and sevoflurane on emergence characteristics in pediatric patients premedicated with ketamine

Objectives: Desflurane may be useful for ambulatory anesthesia. However, desflurane-induced airway irritability makes its use challenging, especially in children. Ketamine can be used to reduce separation anxiety and emergence agitation (EA). However, ketamine may increase bronchial secretions. This study compared desflurane with sevoflurane anesthesia, in terms of emergence time and EA, in preschool children with intravenous (IV) ketamine premedication. Methods: Fifty-six children were scheduled for elective epiblepharon surgery. In the waiting room, ketamine (1 mg/kg) was intravenously administered to patients to reduce separation anxiety. After transport to the operating room, general anesthesia was induced with sevoflurane. The anesthetic agent was changed to desflurane in the desflurane group (group D), while sevoflurane was continued in the sevoflurane group (group S) during surgery. Emergence time (time to gag reflex and time to extubation) and EA (measured using the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium [PAED] scale) were compared between the two groups. Respiratory complications were also recorded. Results: Time to gag reflex (611.1 ± 288.9 s vs. 275.0 ± 126.7 s, P < 0.001) and time to extubation (756.3 ± 267.2 s vs. 425.9 ± 122.9 s, P < 0.001) were significantly shorter in group D than group S. EA did not differ between the two groups. There were no severe respiratory complications. Conclusions: Emergence time was shorter for desflurane anesthesia than sevoflurane anesthesia in preschool children who received IV ketamine premedication. Desflurane anesthesia with IV 0.1 mg/kg of ketamine premedication could be used safely in pediatric ophthalmic surgery; there were no significant respiratory events.