A Retrospective Analysis of Neuromuscular Blocking Drug Use and Ventilation Technique on Complications in the Pediatric Difficult Intubation Registry Using Propensity Score Matching.

BACKGROUND: Ventilation is critical in airway management, and failure can be fatal. The optimal ventilation approach for endotracheal intubation in children with difficult airways remains controversial. The Pediatric Difficult Intubation (PeDI) Registry is an international multicenter registry that collects intubation data in difficult to intubate children. The registry captures the initial (at induction) and final ventilation technique (at intubation), the use of neuromuscular blocking drugs (NMBDs), airway reactivity during intubation, and complications. We analyzed data in the PeDI Registry to determine the frequency of use of various ventilation techniques and associated complications. Because spontaneously breathing patients ventilate throughout intubation, we hypothesized that spontaneous ventilation would be associated with fewer complications than other approaches. METHODS: We queried the PeDI Registry for cases entered between September 2012 and February 2016, from 16 children's hospitals. We categorized the attending anesthesiologist's ventilation plan into 3 groups: spontaneous ventilation, controlled ventilation after administering an NMBD, and controlled ventilation without administering an NMBD. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model, with a binomial family distribution and logit link, was used to determine the association between ventilation technique and the risk of complications, as well as to account for within-site clustering. Propensity score matching was further applied to balance pretreatment characteristics of ventilation groups. RESULTS: Of 1289 anticipated difficult intubations, 507 (39%) were managed with spontaneous ventilation, 453 (35%) controlled ventilation with an NMBD, and 329 (26%) controlled ventilation without an NMBD. Complications occurred in 242 (18.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 16.6%-20.9%) patients. Of these, 218 (16.9%) were nonsevere, and 24 (1.9%) were severe. The spontaneous ventilation group had 114 (22.5%, standardized residual [Std.Res] = 4.29) nonsevere complications, which was higher than the controlled ventilation with an NMBD 60 (13.3%, Std.Res = -2.58), and controlled ventilation without an NMBD 44 (13.4%, Std.Res = -1.98), P < .001. Nearest neighbor matching with caliper width equal to 0.2 of the standard deviation (SD) of the logit of the propensity score also demonstrated that patients with spontaneous ventilation had greater odds of complications compared to controlled ventilation techniques: odds ratio (OR) = 2.07 (95% CI, 1.36-3.15; P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Spontaneous ventilation is associated with more nonsevere complications, such as hypoxemia and laryngospasm, than controlled ventilation techniques during intubation of children with difficult airways. Inadequate anesthetic depth may contribute to increased complications.

Predicting Adverse Perioperative Events in Patients Undergoing Primary Cleft Palate Repair.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify risk factors for adverse perioperative events (APEs) after cleft palatoplasty to develop an individualized risk assessment tool. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. SETTING: Tertiary institutional. PATIENTS: Patients younger than 2 years with cleft palate. INTERVENTIONS: Primary Furlow palatoplasty between 2008 and 2011. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Adverse perioperative event, defined as laryngo- or bronchospasm, accidental extubation, reintubation, obstruction, hypoxia, or unplanned intensive care unit admission. RESULTS: Three hundred patients averaging 12.3 months old were included. Cleft distribution included submucous, 1%; Veau 1, 17.3%; Veau 2, 38.3%; Veau 3, 30.3%; and Veau 4, 13.0%. Pierre Robin (n = 43) was the most prevalent syndrome/anomaly. Eighty-three percent of patients received reversal of neuromuscular blockade, and total morphine equivalent narcotic dose averaged 0.19 mg/kg. Sixty-nine patients (23.0%) had an APE, most commonly hypoventilation (10%) and airway obstruction (8%). Other APEs included reintubation (4.7%) and laryngobronchospasm (3.3%). APE was associated with multiple intubation attempts (odds ratio [OR] = 6.6, P = .001), structural or functional airway anomaly (OR = 4.5, P < .001), operation >160 minutes (OR = 2.2, P = .04), narcotic dose >0.3 mg/kg (OR = 2.3, P = .03), inexperienced provider (OR = 2.1, P = .02), and no paralytic reversal administration (OR = 2.0, P = .049); weight between 9 and 13 kg was protective (OR = 0.5, P = .04). Patients were risk-stratified according to individual profiles as low, average, high, or extreme risk (APE 2.5%-91.7%) with excellent risk discrimination (C-statistic = 0.79). CONCLUSIONS: APE incidence was 23.0% after palatoplasty, with a 37-fold higher incidence in extreme-risk patients. Individualized risk assessment tools may enhance perioperative clinical decision making to mitigate complications.

A limited evaluation of the association of race and anesthetic medication administration: A single-center experience with appendectomies.

BACKGROUND: Although it is known that a patient's race may influence their medical care, racial patterns of medication administration in pediatric anesthesia have not been well-studied. The aim of this study was to determine if differences exist between Black and White children with regard to administration of anesthetic and analgesic medications for a single procedure at our institution. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of medications administered to patients for emergency appendectomies at a large academic children's hospital from 2010 to 2015. We examined the association between patient race and administration of preoperative midazolam and intraoperative ondansetron, lidocaine, ketorolac, and weight-based doses of fentanyl and morphine. RESULTS: During the study period, 1680 patients (1329 White, 351 Black) underwent emergency appendectomy. There were no significant racial differences in administration of intraoperative anesthetic medications between Black and White children. In unadjusted analysis, Black children were less likely to receive preoperative midazolam than White children (OR=0.74 [95% CI, 0.58-0.94], P=.012). After adjusting for confounders, there was no evidence of racial differences in administration of preoperative or intraoperative medications. CONCLUSION: We did not find a significant difference in preoperative or intraoperative medication administration based on race when we adjusted for age, gender, and attending anesthesiologist practice patterns. We encourage all institutions to monitor their own practice patterns with regard to race.

Videolaryngoscopy versus Fiber-optic Intubation through a Supraglottic Airway in Children with a Difficult Airway: An Analysis from the Multicenter Pediatric Difficult Intubation Registry.

BACKGROUND: The success rates and related complications of various techniques for intubation in children with difficult airways remain unknown. The primary aim of this study is to compare the success rates of fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway to videolaryngoscopy in children with difficult airways. Our secondary aim is to compare the complication rates of these techniques. METHODS: Observational data were collected from 14 sites after management of difficult pediatric airways. Patient age, intubation technique, success per attempt, use of continuous ventilation, and complications were recorded for each case. First-attempt success and complications were compared in subjects managed with fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway and videolaryngoscopy. RESULTS: Fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway and videolaryngoscopy had similar first-attempt success rates (67 of 114, 59% vs. 404 of 786, 51%; odds ratio 1.35; 95% CI, 0.91 to 2.00; P = 0.16). In subjects less than 1 yr old, fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway was more successful on the first attempt than videolaryngoscopy (19 of 35, 54% vs. 79 of 220, 36%; odds ratio, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.04 to 4.31; P = 0.042). Complication rates were similar in the two groups (20 vs. 13%; P = 0.096). The incidence of hypoxemia was lower when continuous ventilation through the supraglottic airway was used throughout the fiber-optic intubation attempt. CONCLUSIONS: In this nonrandomized study, first-attempt success rates were similar for fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway and videolaryngoscopy. Fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway is associated with higher first-attempt success than videolaryngoscopy in infants with difficult airways. Continuous ventilation through the supraglottic airway during fiber-optic intubation attempts may lower the incidence of hypoxemia.