Pediatric Sedation Pearls

The practice of procedural sedation and analgesia in pediatrics is evolving rapidly. Some of our practices are backed by substantial supporting data, whereas for others, the evidence base is less well developed, leading to substantial differences in provider preferences. In addition, the multidisciplinary nature of providing sedation and differences in local custom and regulatory requirements all contribute to a certain amount of practice variability: the “art” of sedation. To provide a forum for exploring this, we invited experts in pediatric procedural sedation to share their practices and “pearls”, combining anecdotal experience with evidence from the literature.

Keywords: procedural sedation and analgesia, airway assessment, laryngospasm, ketamine, emergence reaction, nitrous oxide, propofol, alfentanil, remifentanil, adolescent patient