Quality Improvement Protocol to Reduce Excessive Postoperative Recovery Following Cleft Palate Repair.
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed January 2026 by Dr Tom Walker
This Australian single-centre quality improvement (QI) study focussed on the anaesthetic management of children undergoing cleft palate repair with the primary aim of reducing PACU length of stay. ...
Comparison of analgesic efficacy and safety of caudal dexmedetomidine versus intranasal dexmedetomidine in paediatric infraumbilical surgeries
A randomised controlled trial
European Journal of Anaesthesiology
Reviewed January 2026 by Dr Matt Hart
This randomised, double-blind non-inferiority trial compared the analgesic efficacy and safety of caudal dexmedetomidine versus intranasal dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to a single-shot caudal block...
The Influence of Electroencephalographic Density Spectral Array Guidance of Sevoflurane Administration on Recovery From General Anesthesia in Children. A Randomized Controlled Trial
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed July 2025 by Dr Sharon Eow
Single centre, prospective randomised controlled trial conducted at Sophia Children’s Hospital, a tertiary paediatric hospital in Rotterdam, Netherlands, between September 2022 and March 2024 ...
Electroencephalography and Anesthetic Depth in Children Under 2 Years of Age
A Prospective Observational Study
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed July 2025 by Dr Grace Andrews
This single-centre prospective observational study aimed to compare EEG spectral parameters during periods of false positive elevations in processed EEG indices to elevations in these indices during...
Retrospective Cohort Study of Perioperative Complications in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Children Testing SARS-CoV-2-Positive Within 21 Days Before Surgery
CoV-2-Positive Within 21 Days Before Surgery
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed July 2025 by Dr Liam O'Doherty
This is a single centre, retrospective cohort study of 523 paediatric patients who tested positive to COVID 19 within 21 days prior to surgery. Data was acquired via chart review. The primary outcome...
Short-term Outcomes in Infants after General Anesthesia with Low-dose Sevoflurane/Dexmedetomidine/Remifentanil versus Standard-dose Sevoflurane
The TREX Trial
Anesthesiology
Reviewed March 2025 by Dr Roeland Passier
This is a secondary analysis comparing the two treatment groups in The Trial Remifentanil DEXmedetomidine (TREX) trial looking at early perioperative results. TREX, which is ongoing, was designed to...
3-Dimensional Virtual Reality Versus 2-Dimensional Video for Distraction During the Induction of Anesthesia in Children to Reduce Anxiety
A Randomized Controlled Trial
Anesthesia Analgesia
Reviewed January 2026 by Dr Tim Durack
This study did not find 3D virtual reality (VR) to be superior to 2D tablet audiovisual distraction in reducing anxiety during induction for children undergoing emergency or elective surgery. ...
Analgesic efficacy and safety of erector spinae plane block in pediatric patients undergoing elective surgery
A systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Journal of Clinical Anesthesia
Reviewed March 2025 by Dr Matt Hart
This systematic review and meta-analysis compared analgesic efficacy and safety between erector spinae plane block (ESPB) and controls in paediatric surgical patients. The primary outcome analysed...
Long-term outcomes of early exposure to repeated general anaesthesia in children with cystic fibrosis (CF-GAIN)
A multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled phase 4 trial
The Lancet
Reviewed February 2025 by Dr Nicole Wylie
The initial trial was a prospective, open-label, unblinded, randomised and multi-centre trial designed to look at the entirely different clinical question of pulmonary and nutritional outcomes. This...
Comparison of postoperative pain in children after maintenance anaesthesia with propofol or sevoflurane
A systematic review and meta-analysis
British Journal of Anaesthesia
Reviewed August 2024 by Dr Rory Walsh
This was a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 randomised controlled trials that compared post-operative pain between sevoflurane and propofol anaesthesia in children. The primary outcome was...
The effect of augmented reality on preoperative anxiety in children and adolescents
A randomized controlled trial
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed June 2024 by Dr Jon Stacey
Augmented Outcomes or Virtual Benefits? Prior to a more thorough discussion, and for those with limited time, it must first be noted that the text of the abstract and that of the manuscript’s main...
Effect of BIS-guided anesthesia on emergence delirium following general anesthesia in children
A prospective randomized controlled trial
Anaesthesia Critical Care & Pain Medicine
Reviewed February 2024 by Dr Priya Sreedharan
This prospective, randomised, double-blinded study was conducted at the University hospital of Ostrava in the Czech Republic. The study hypothesized that optimizing the depth of general anaesthesia...
It's time to stop using nitrous oxide for pediatric mask induction
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed June 2024 by Dr Andrew Chazan
This short ‘perspectives essay’ is aimed at getting anaesthetists to reconsider the routine use of nitrous oxide in mask induction of anaesthesia. The points raised in the article include: Greater...
A prospective comparison of invasive and non-invasive blood pressure in children undergoing cardiac catheterization
Invasive blood pressure in children undergoing cardiac catheterization
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed December 2023 by Dr Su May Koh
This was a multicentre prospective observational study of 254 children aged under 16 undergoing cardiac catheterisation where paired non-invasive and invasive blood pressure measurements were...
Reducing the environmental impact of mask inductions in children
A quality improvement report
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed December 2023 by Dr Tracy Jackson
The environmental impact of anaesthetic gases are of increasing concern. In Australia and New Zealand, children are traditionally induced by gas induction with high flow nitrous/oxygen and...
Transnasal Humidified Rapid Insufflation Ventilatory Exchange Augments Oxygenation in Children With Juvenile Onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis During Surgery
A Prospective Randomized Crossover Controlled Trial
Anesthesia Analgesia
Reviewed December 2023 by Dr Chris Brasher
Children undergoing suspension laryngoscopy for papillomatosis surgery were randomised to either THRIVE or room air during apnoea. All patients were paralysed and intubated/ventilated periodically....
The effect of intranasal dexmedetomidine administration on emergence agitation or delirium in pediatric patients after general anesthesia
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed September 2023 by Dr Matt Jenke
Summary: This article is a meta-analysis of randomised control trials analysing the effect of preoperative intranasal dexmedetomidine on emergence agitation (EA) and emergence delirium (ED) in...
Comparison of intravenous and inhalation anesthesia on postoperative behavior changes in children undergoing ambulatory endoscopic procedures
A randomized clinical trial
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed March 2023 by Dr Priya Sreedharan
This randomized, parallel, double-blinded clinical trial performed in an outpatient endoscopic clinic between October 2018 and December 2021 was designed to determine if intravenous anaesthesia was...
The Influence of Positive End-Expiratory Pressure on Leakage and Oxygenation Using a Laryngeal Mask Airway
A Randomized Trial
Anesthesia Analgesia
Reviewed September 2022 by Dr Liam O'Doherty
An RCT of adult patients undergoing surgery (urology, gynaecology, peripheral) with mandatory ventilation via a Proseal LMA mask randomised to PEEP 8.2 cmH2O (PEEP group) or PEEP 0 cmH2O (ZEEP...
Respiratory Adverse Events After LMA® Mask Removal in Children
A Randomized Trial Comparing Propofol to Sevoflurane
Anesthesia Analgesia
Reviewed January 2023 by Dr Justin Skowno
This RCT in 134 low risk children having general anaesthesia with an LMA were randomized between propofol and sevoflurane anaesthesia, with fentanyl analgesia, awake LMA removal and other clinical...
