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Children frequently experience more painful, stressful, and traumatic medical procedures and treatments in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) than when they are hospitalized in general wards. An essential part of care in the PICU is providing critically ill children with appropriate sedation and analgesia. Finding the perfect combination of adequate analgesia and sufficient sedation in a patient group with a wide range of ages, sizes, and developmental stages can be challenging. Administration of sedatives and analgesics to critically ill patients may be challenging and complicated by unpredictable pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD). It is important to keep in mind that optimal agents for procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) differ from those used for long-term sedation in the PICU. In addition to pharmacological measures, different nonpharmacological methods can be applied and have been shown to be effective for pain relief in children. Efforts are being made to improve PSA management with the use of national surveys, recommendations and guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currarino syndrome was first described as a triad by Guido Currarino, an American radiologist in 1981. It is an autosomal dominant hereditary disease known by the triad of anorectal stenosis, anterior sacral defect, and a presacral mass that is most often an anterior sacral meningocele. We represent a 3 year boy with refractory constipation from birth, which had been wrongly diagnosed and treated as Hirschsprung's disease since early childhood. The patient underwent urgent colostomy because of water intoxication due to bowel irrigation, and following investigations (CT, MRI) revealed anorectal anomaly and presacral mass compatible with Curarrino's syndrome. Definitive operation was done with perineal approach, posterior sagittal anorectoplasty, with interval colostomy closure 2 months after perineal operation. An uncomplicated postoperative recovery ensued. The patient's bowel habits successfully returned to normal soon after the operation. A multidisciplinary diagnostic and therapeutic protocol is presented. Main points are rectal examination, sacrum x-Ray, molecular genetic diagnosis, radiologic evaluation of every member of Currarino syndrome families, CT scan, magnetic resonance (MR) evaluation of patient spine and pelvis and suction rectal biopsies. If the mass is a meningocele, colostomy and neurosurgical exploration should precede anoplasty due to the risk of meningitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digestive tract duplications are uncommon congenital anomalies, encountered mostly in the first 3 months of life. Overall the rectum is the least common site of alimentary duplications. We represent a case of large cystic non-communicating duplication that manifested with constipation and profuse rectal bleeding. When diagnosis was established, surgery was planned and the cyst was enucleated completely. Histopathology examination confirmed the diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]