Procedural sedation programme minimising adverse events: a 3-year experience from a tertiary paediatric emergency department.

INTRODUCTION: A well-developed procedural sedation programme in the paediatric emergency department can minimise adverse events. We examined how adherence to current best evidence ensures safe delivery of paediatric sedation in a newly established tertiary paediatric hospital. METHODS: Our sedation service uses a robust provider training and privileging system, standardised policy and procedures and rigorous data collection all within an evidence-based clinical governance process. We examined sedation data from the first 3 years of operation. RESULTS: From July 2018 to May 2022, ketamine was used in 3388 of the 3405 sedations. The mean age of sedated children was 5.5 years (range 6 months to 17.8 years) and common indications were closed reduction of fractures and laceration repairs. A total of 148 (4.37%, 95% CI 3.68% to 5.06%) adverse events were documented, including 88 (2.59%, 95% CI 2.06% to 3.13%) cases of vomiting, 50 (1.48%, 95% CI 1.07% to 1.88%) cases related to airway and breathing with 40 (1.18%, 95% CI 0.82% to 1.54%) cases of oxygen desaturation, 6 (0.18%, 95% CI 0.04% to 0.32%) cases of laryngospasm, 4 (0.12%, 95% CI 0% to 0.23%) cases of apnoea. CONCLUSION: This study presents a large single-centre dataset on the use of intravenous ketamine in paediatric procedural sedation. Adhering to international standards and benchmarks for provider skills and training, drug administration and monitoring facilities, with a strict clinical governance process, optimizes patient safety.

Reply to: Magnesium sulphate intravenously reduces tachycardia side-effects of ß2-agonists.

Intravenous magnesium sulphate reduces ß2-agonist induced tachycardia https://bit.ly/3pPnGKl.

Stating the obvious: intravenous magnesium sulphate should be the first parenteral bronchodilator in paediatric asthma exacerbations unresponsive to first-line therapy.

What is the most appropriate second-line intravenous bronchodilator treatment when a child with a severe asthma attack is not responsive to initial inhaled therapy? The second-line treatment options for acute asthma include parenteral ß2-agonists, methylxanthine and magnesium sulphate (MgSO4). There is a poor evidence-base to inform this decision. This review argues that intravenous MgSO4 is the obvious treatment of choice for this situation as the initial treatment based on current knowledge.  We describe the mode of action, scope and limitations of MgSO4, safety profile, economic impact, comparisons of the alternatives, and finally, what the guidelines say.  This review explores the suitability of intravenous MgSO4 as a pragmatic and safe initial second-line therapy for children unresponsive to initial asthma management.