Effects of Dexmedetomidine-Remifentanil on Neurodevelopment of Children after Inhalation Anesthesia
A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Anesthesiology
Reviewed January 2026 by Dr Andrew Hughes
This prospective, double-blind RCT compares the neurodevelopmental effect of a single GA exposure using different doses of sevoflurane in children under 2 years of age. Children were randomised to...
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Intrathecal versus Caudal Morphine-Bupivacaine on Postoperative Analgesia and Cortisol Levels in Pediatric Patients
Bupivacaine on Postoperative Analgesia and Cortisol Levels in Pediatric Patients
Anesthesia Analgesia
Reviewed September 2025 by Dr Stephanie Pauling
This study compared the analgesic outcomes of caudal morphine and bupivacaine with intrathecal morphine and bupivacaine in patients aged 1-5 having general, urological and orthopaedic surgery below...
Is the Compassion of Anesthesiologists Associated With Postoperative Pain and Patient Experience? A Prospective Cohort Study
Anesthesia Analgesia
Reviewed September 2025 by Dr Andrew O’Donoghue
This study, published in Anaesthesia & Analgesia (2025), investigates the role of anaesthesiologist compassion in shaping postoperative outcomes among patients undergoing same-day surgery. The...
Prolonged opioid use after surgery in children, adolescents, and young adults
A systematic review
Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia
Reviewed July 2025 by Dr Maximiliane Beck
Persistent use of opioids after surgery remains a significant concern in the paediatric population and has been the subject of debate, particularly in North America. In Australia, between 2013 and...
Regional Analgesia in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
A Bayesian Network Meta-analysis
Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anaesthesia
Reviewed July 2025 by Dr Aisling Gormley
This meta-analysis compared the effect of 13 different epidural and regional anaesthetic techniques (ERATs) on opioid consumption and pain scores in paediatric patients following cardiothoracic...
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...
Optimizing pediatric tonsillectomy outcomes with an opioid sparing anesthesia protocol
Learning and continuously improving with real-world data
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed March 2025 by Dr David Kinchington
This paper is a perspective piece primarily providing insight into how one ambulatory surgical centre utilised quality improvement processes supported by new generation artificial intelligence (AI)...
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...
Population Pharmacokinetics of Single Bolus Dose Fentanyl in Obese Children
Anesthesia Analgesia
Reviewed June 2024 by Dr Mark Moll
Background: Childhood obesity is a significant problem. Obesity may alter the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of many medications. Fentanyl is commonly used in paediatric anaesthesia, but there is a paucity...
What we know and what we don't know about the perioperative use of methadone in children and adolescents
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed March 2023 by Dr Sorcha Evans
Summary This review article looks at methadone use in the paediatric perioperative population summarising the benefits and risks. A brief description of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics is...
Scheduled methadone reduces overall opioid requirements after pediatric posterior spinal fusion
A single center retrospective case series
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed September 2022 by Dr Bojana Stepanovic
What? - A retrospective chart review of 94 patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis between 2015 and 2020 at the American Family Children’s Hospital,...
Intravenous ondansetron reduced nausea but not pruritus following intrathecal morphine in children
Interim results of a randomized, double‐blinded, placebo‐control trial
Pediatric Anesthesia
Reviewed September 2022 by Dr Falk Reinholz
Study Design - Prospective, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Single centre in USA where intrathecal morphine (ITM) is commonly utilised. - Ondansetron 0.1mg/kg (max 16mg) or...
Health Care Burden Associated With Adolescent Prolonged Opioid Use After Surgery
Anesthesia Analgesia
Reviewed January 2023 by Dr David Sainsbury
Summary This was a retrospective cohort study of opioid-naïve patients aged 12-21 undergoing surgery. The study used insurance claim data to examine the healthcare usage of the patients and the...
Bilateral erector spinae plane blocks in children undergoing cardiac surgery
A randomized, controlled study
Journal of Clinical Anesthesia
Reviewed September 2022 by Dr Neil Hauser
This small, randomized control study of 40 patients investigated the utility of erector spinae plane blocks (ESPB) in paediatric sternotomy for cardiac procedures. The primary outcome was cumulative...
Prevalence and Outcomes of Opioid Use Disorder in Pediatric Surgical Patients
A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Anesthesia Analgesia
Reviewed January 2023 by Dr David Sainsbury
This was a retrospective matched cohort study examining the prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) in 10 to 18-year-olds and the association with post-operative outcomes over a 15-year period from...
