Duration of Anaesthesia Induction in Paediatric Patients: Prospective Observational Trial

Abstract

Intravenous anaesthesia induction is nowadays considered as gold standard, mainly because of the possibility of the rapid therapeutic intervention while having secured i.v. line. In the paediatric patients, apart from intravenous induction, it is also possible to use in the specific situations inhalation anaesthesia induction with sevoflurane (in the mixture with O2 + air, or O2 + N2O) and secure the i.v. line afterwards in the inhalation anaesthesia. This method is in the paediatric population currently preferred, mainly because of possible fear of the painful venipuncture. Inhalation anaesthesia induction is possible only in patients without the risk of aspiration/regurgitation of stomach content and in patients without predicted difficult airway. Even if sedative premedication is used, during the inhalation induction excitation stage of the general anaesthesia variably appears, during which hemodynamic sympathoadrenal response and involuntary limbs movement might occur. When deepening inhalation anaesthesia, progression to surgical stage and automatic breathing onset appears. This subsequently facilitates to secure the venous access, without which is is not possible to secure the airway (in exception of the emergency situations - resuscitation).

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