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Background: Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in otherwise healthy neonates frequently requires urgent surgical procedure but anaesthesia care may result in respiratory complications, such as hypoxaemia, pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents, and postoperative apnoea. The primary aim was to study whether or not the incidence of difficult airway management and of hypoxaemia in neonates undergoing pyloric stenosis repair was higher than that in neonates undergoing other surgeries. Methods: Data on neonates and infants undergoing anaesthesia and surgery for pyloric stenosis were extracted from the NEonate and Children audiT of Anesthesia pRactice In Europe (NECTARINE) database, for secondary analysis. Results: We identified 310 infants who had anaesthesia for surgery for pyloric stenosis. Difficult airway management (more than two attempts at laryngoscopy) was higher in children with pyloric stenosis when compared with the entire NECTARINE cohort (7.9% [95% confidence interval {CI}, 5.22–11.53] vs 4.4% [95% CI, 1.99–6.58]; relative risk [RR]=1.81 [95% CI, 1.21–2.69]; P=0.004), whereas transient hypoxaemia with oxygen saturation

Background The aim of this prospective, randomized trial was to compare analgesia, sedation, and cardiorespiratory function in children after thoracoscopic surgery for pectus excavatum repair, using two types of analgesia—epidural block with bupivacaine plus fentanyl vs patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with fentanyl. Methods Twenty-eight patients scheduled for thoracoscopic pectus excavatum surgery were randomly assigned to receive either thoracic epidural block or i.v. PCA for postoperative analgesia. Pain was assessed using a visual-analogue scale (VAS). The Ramsay sedation score, arterial pressure, ventilatory frequency, and heart rate were also measured, and blood gas analysis was performed regularly during the first 48 h after surgery. Results A significant decrease in the VAS pain score, Ramsay sedation score, heart rate ventilatory frequency, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and Pa co 2, and a significant increase in Pa o 2 and oxygen saturation were found over time. Patients in the PCA group had significantly higher Pa co 2 values. In addition, a significantly slower decline of systolic blood pressure and heart rate, and faster recovery of Pa co 2 were found in PCA patients than in patients with epidural block. Conclusions I.V. fentanyl PCA is as effective as thoracic epidural for postoperative analgesia in children after thoracoscopic pectus excavatum repair. Bearing in mind the possible complications of epidural catheterization in children, the use of fentanyl PCA is recommended.

Delirij je ozbiljan neuropsihijatrijski poremećaj a delirij djece u jedinicama intenzivnog liječenja je kao klinički entitet neprepoznat. Rana dijagnoza delirija djece važna je zbog pravovremene terapije i raznih psihosocijalnih postupaka. Dijagnostika delirija u dječjoj populaciji je otežana jer postoji više ljestvica i testova ali niti jedan nije dovoljno specifičan i osjetljiv za procjenu mentalnog statusa djece u jedinicama intenzivnog liječenja. Algoritam za dijagnostiku i liječenje delirija djece u jedinicama intenzivnog liječenja ne postoji te je potrebno dodatnih kliničkih ispitivanja i radova radi poboljšanja dijagnostike i terapije tog ozbiljnog kliničkog entiteta., Delirium is a serious neuropsychiatric disorder and pediatric delirium (PD) is a similarly serious condition. PD is understudied and very often misdiagnosed, especially in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). It is important to early diagnose PD, so that early psychosocial interventions and therapy can be introduced. Valid diagnostic instruments are needed at PICU to assess PD. There are many scales and tests to diagnose delirium but none of them is specific enough to diagnose PD. Although PD is a serious complication at PICU, clinical guidelines for PD are still lacking, therefore additional investigations are needed to bring them out.

Za veliki broj lijekova, pa tako i za analgetike, iz etičkih se razloga ne provode farmakološke studije u djece tijekom preregistracijskog ispitivanja lijeka. Dizajniranje ovakvih studija vrlo je zahtjevno i teško provedivo. Pojam „djeca“ uključuje vrlo heterogenu skupinu, od prematurne novorođenčadi do puberteta i adolescencije. To je razdoblje života u kojem se odvija kompletan razvoj i sazrijevanje metaboličkih mehanizama odgovornih za procese farmakodinamike i farmakokinetike. Procjena intenziteta boli u djece opterećena je brojnim teškoćama. Mnogi analgetici imaju relativno malu terapijsku širinu i kliničari su suočeni s realnom opasnošću od predoziranja. Preporuke za doziranje pojedinog analgetika u djece često ne postoje ili su bazirane na relativno malim kliničkim studijama. Multicentrična suradnja je u novije vrijeme omogućila pojavu kvalitetnih farmakodinamskih i farmakokinetskih ispitivanja za osnovne analgetike kao što su paracetamol, tramadol i morfin., For a large number of medicines, analgesics included, ethical obligations do not permit pharmacological studies in children during pre-registration medicine testing. The very design of such studies is demanding and they are difficult to conduct. The term “children” includes a number of highly diverse groups, from premature neonates to children in puberty and adolescence. Childhood is a period of life in which the complete development and maturation of metabolic paths occurs, including maturation of the metabolic mechanisms responsible for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes. The assessment of pain intensity in children presents a number of difficulties, too. Numerous analgesics have a relatively narrow therapeutic width and therefore clinicians are faced with the objective danger of overdosing. Dosage recommendations for specific analgesic agents in children either do not exist or they are based on relatively small clinical studies. Recent multicentric cooperation has made it possible top conduct high quality pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic testing for basic analgesics such as acetaminophen, morphine and tramadol.

Central venous catheters provide an easy access for intravenous medications. Having a central line in place will relieve a child from the discomfort and danger of multiple regular intravenous lines for chemotherapy. The use of indwelling central venous catheters has become commonplace in the management of children undergoing oncological treatment. There are two types of central lines commonly used. There are Broviac catheters and Port-A-Cath (PAC) catheters. In the last 5 years we inserted 194 catheters in 175 children. We inserted 121 Broviac catheters and 73 PAC catheters. During the follow up of 39382 catheter days 44 complications were observed. In Broviac group the median follow up was 155 days and in PAC group was 230 days. We observed differences in the incidence between two devices. In Broviac group infections were more frequent and in PAC group other complications were more frequent than infections.

Hirschsprung's disease is congenital anomaly of the intestine and Harald Hirschsprung gave the first description of this disease'. The aim of this follow-up study was to evaluate the results of Rehbein's procedure in the treatment of Hirschsprung's disease in the last 30 years in Children's Hospital Zagreb. Hirschsprung's disease is congenital intestinal aganglionosis as the results of arrested fetal development of the myenteric nervous system. Hirschsprung's disease is affecting between 1:5000 to 1:8000 live births. A total of 124 children underwent Rehbein's lower anterior resection at Children's Hospital Zagreb. The principle of Rehbein'procedure is to remove aganglionic narrow segment and dilated sigmoid colon and anastomosis between normal intestine with rectal stump. The postoperative outcome was analysed for early and late complications like wound infections, abscesses, anastomotic insufficiency, postoperative enterocolitis, constipation, fecal incontinence, need for reoperation, ileus and mortality. On the basis of our results and data from literature we concluded that Rehbein's procedure is an excellent method for treatment Hirschsprung's disease.

Summary Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug indicated for the treatment of partial seizures in children. Many studies have proved its analgesic action in the treatment of neuropathic pain in adults and we have noticed an analgesic action of gabapentin in neuropathic pain in children. Five patients treated in the Children's Hospital Pain Control Service for intractable neuropathic pain were included in gabapentin treatment. Four were cancer patients and one suffered from neuropathic pain in the neck (C3). The visual analog scale (VAS) scores of pain were compared before and during treatment with gabapentin. We noticed a rapid improvement, in 1 week, of our patients’ VAS scores (from 9 or 10 to 4 or 3) with minimal adverse effects. In the follow-up period of 6 months we gradually reduced the dose of gabapentin. Our findings are that gabapentin should be included earlier in the treatment of neuropathic pain in adolescents, because it rapidly improves analgesia and has minimal side effects.