A Retrospective Analysis of the Clinical Effectiveness of Supraclavicular, Ultrasound-guided Brachiocephalic Vein Cannulations in Preterm Infants

The authors present a single-centre, retrospective analysis of brachiocephalic vein (BCV) cannulation in babies under 2.5kg. The primary aims of the study were to determine the effectiveness and safety of the technique. Secondary aims included a comparison of right versus left BCV cannulation and success of internal jugular vein (IJV) cannulation if the BCV approach […]

Perioperative steroid use for tonsillectomy and its association with reoperation for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage: a retrospective cohort study

This is a retrospective cohort study of 6149 patients having tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy or grommets. A hospital-based claims database over a period of 6 years and including patients treated at 68 hospitals was analysed for reoperation for bleeding on postoperative days 1-14. Half the study cohort were children. There was no significant difference […]

Incidence of Artifacts and Deviating Values in Research Data Obtained from an Anesthesia Information Management System in Children

Anaesthesia information management systems (AIMS) are increasingly being used for record keeping and as a resource for database research and medicolegal litigations.  However, the AIMS cannot verify whether a particular value is true or an artefact and so artefacts influence the validity of research based on AIMS. This was a prospective, observational cohort study of […]

Local anaesthetic dosage of peripheral nerve blocks in children: analysis of 40,121 blocks from the Paediatric Regional Anaesthesia Network database

There is limited data available on the efficacy or safety of single shot peripheral nerve blocks in the paediatric population. Currently, no consensus clinical practice guidelines exist on the appropriate dose of local anaesthetic for single shot nerve blocks in children. This review used the Paediatric Regional Anaesthesia Network (PRAN) database. The database has 20 […]

Limitations of paediatric supraglottic airway devices as conduits for intubation – an in vitro study

Supraglottic airway (SGA) devices are commonly used as conduits for intubation but data and manufacturers recommendations are limited when it comes to paediatric SGA devices. This study is an in vitro and lab-based study that tested for compatibility between eight SGAs and six ETTs of different sizes. The authors have devised a table to help […]

Cuffed vs. uncuffed tracheal tubes in children: a randomised controlled trial comparing leak, tidal volume and complications

In this paper, the authors performed a prospective randomised controlled study looking at leakage around the tracheal tube. 104 children presenting for elective surgery aged 0 – 16 years weighing more than 5kg were included in the study and were randomly allocated to either cuffed or uncuffed intubation. The initial tube size and type was […]

A Retrospective Analysis of the Clinical Effectiveness of Supraclavicular, Ultrasound-guided Brachiocephalic Vein Cannulations in Preterm Infants

The authors present a single-centre, retrospective analysis of brachiocephalic vein (BCV) cannulation in babies under 2.5kg. The primary aims of the study were to determine the effectiveness and safety of the technique. Secondary aims included a comparison of right versus left BCV cannulation and success of internal jugular vein (IJV) cannulation if the BCV approach […]

Central Venous Catheters in Small Infants

In this neat editorial, the authors discuss the importance of central venous access in small infants and make suggestions for how we can better understand this challenging area of paediatric anaesthesia. Key points: Increasing numbers of small infants are presenting for central access due to improved survival and requirement for long-term management with drugs, fluids […]